Vanishing Demons
by meenajon
Summary: Story has a life of its own. Starts out with SharonHelo, AndersKara, KaraLee, etc. Then it continues with their children. Happy rar!
1. Chapter 1

--Just a little ditty that helps me deal with the Anders being left on Caprica crap.

--I own nothing except for the ideas in my head. All the familiar characters belong to RDM and Sci-Fi.

* * *

He couldn't believe that he was doing this…. But he couldn't resist the look on Kara's face when he said he would. For two months she had moped around the dark corridors, looking aimlessly ahead at some hidden demon that she couldn't shake.

_She shouldn't have made a promise that was so hard to keep._

"Raptor 4-5-7, you're cleared for launch. Good hunting, Apollo. Galactica out."

Dee's voice was reassuring as it left the comm. He could tell that no one on Galactica suspected what they were up to. Only the Chief and his deck crew had seen Kara get on board. His look had spoken volumes, but Lee knew Galen Tyrol well enough to know the man would keep his mouth shut. If only so that he wouldn't get stuck in the middle of it, too.

"Helo, get that FTL up and spinning. Jump to commence on my mark."

Sharon's former ECO smiled as he worked the controls, then shook his head.

_We must be crazy. _

"Roger that Apollo."

Kara ducked as two vipers flew by. Kat and Hotdog, by the looks of it. She was supposed to be teaching them a few new maneuvers, but had taken "sick" at the last minute. She even managed to con Doc Cottle for once…and it was hard as hell to get anything past that old man.

"Mark."

Her stomach lurched. She couldn't tell if it was from the jump through space, or in anticipation of things to come. Once they completed the jump, she raised her head to look out the window.

"All clear?"

Apollo turned to look at her. Now that they were away from the Galactica, he felt free to express himself.

"Yes Starbuck. Looks like no one's home. Creepy. Helo, are you sure we're outside of Caprica?"

Helo looked at the scan in front of him. All signs pointed to the planet Caprica. But the Cylon presence that was painfully orbiting the planet before was no longer there.

"Yeah. Looks like it. But we'd better power down just in case…coast in like Sha…like we did the last time we were here. It's not like we're all stealth in this thing like in a Cylon raider." He grinned in Starbuck's direction.

She rolled her eyes as Apollo powered down the raptor. They coasted into the atmosphere before powering up again.

Lee looked back at Kara, who was still sitting on the floor of the raptor.

"You wanna come up here so you can point out where we're going? Or do you want me to continue flying blind?"

Kara felt like grinning, but didn't. This was too serious a situation for her to start joking. Besides, she didn't think that her stomach could take it. Easing herself into the co-pilot's seat, she cringed at the thought of stepping out of the raptor's confines and back onto this gods forsaken planet again. As she tried to calm her racing heartbeat, she began to recognize some of the terrain.

"Land over there, behind that building."

Apollo flew to the building in question, southeast of where they were. It looked burned out. To Kara and Helo, it was hardly recognizable.

"What the frak…"

Helo got up from his chair to look. The school, Delphi Union High, was no longer. It looked like the attack had been recent, too. The burned-out hallways were still smoldering.

"Gods, I hope they got out alive."

They both looked at Kara, who had suddenly gone ashen as she started stuttering.

"T-too, l-late…"

Lee turned towards her. There had to be a way to tell her it would be all right.

"Kara, now, we don't know…"

He was cut off as she jumped to her feet and forced open the hatch, with Helo two steps behind.

"Stop, the both of you! That's an order!"

Apollo's voice echoed eerily, as the two Lieutenants halted. _Dammit. Great way to make our presence known, if there still is a Cylon force waiting out there. Idiot!_ Lee was going to regret this…he just knew it.

"We need to walk the perimeter, do a little recon…"

Click. Click. Click.

The sound kept coming from all around. Someone or some-thing had definitely been waiting.

"Frak."

Lee was going to kill her for this. It was bad enough that he would have to explain his actions to his father, again. Now he would have to deal with how they were going to get out of this one in the first place.

One man came out of the nearby woods and started walking toward them…a grim look upon his features. He came directly in front of Helo and Starbuck, who were a few paces ahead of Lee.

"You just can't make a quiet entrance, can you?"

A tiny, knowing smile, slowly crept across Starbuck's stony features. The man motioned for the others to come out and for them to lower their weapons. He looked down at Starbuck in particular, then picked her up and kissed her hard on the lips.

"Kept your promise then, didn't you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews. They do help me in figuring out where this is going. I just have these dreams of certain scenes that pop up in my head, and then I use this to link them together. I'm not necessarily a Kara/Anders shipper, but I hate loose ends. I'd like to see Kara/Lee, but at least with Kara/Anders, there's not as much baggage to throw around.

Now, on with the show….

* * *

Helo cringed a little at the exchange between Kara and Sam. He knew how Lee Adama was probably feeling right now, seeing what was for him a complete stranger kiss their best friend. A little confused, mixed with a little jealousy, perhaps?

It was worse than Helo imagined.

As he began to move closer in their direction, Apollo could feel his temperature beginning to creep upward. _Now I know why she never wanted to talk to me about Caprica…HIM. She didn't want to tell me about HIM. _

Kara turned as she felt Lee come up from behind.

"Samuel T. Anders, this is Lee Adama; One of my best friends."

Anders reached out to shake Lee's hand. The latter man took it firmly in his grip…maybe a little too firmly.

"Anders…, aren't you…?"

Helo broke in.

"Caprica Buccaneers; The Pyramid Team."

Lee tilted his head a little, squinting at the player.

"You're the owner of the ball... They pyramid ball."

Anders cocked his head to one side, smiling at what he could see now would be considered his 'rival'. _I could take him_.

"Yeah, I am. Which reminds me, Thrace…"

He reached into his shirt to pull out the gift she had left him.

"Always kept it with me."

He placed the dog tag into her hand and closed her fingers over it, lingering his hand upon hers. With the other, he lightly brushed her abdomen.

"You been okay?"

Lee's brow furrowed. _What the hell is he talking about?_

Starbuck became visibly tense and defensive as she growled in a low voice.

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

Helo shifted uncomfortably. He had been watching the perimeter carefully, and was becoming uneasy with each passing moment.

"Um. Don't want to interrupt, but…shouldn't we get out of here? It's only a matter of time before we end up with some unwanted company."

Anders, who was still looking at Starbuck with concern, snapped his head up.

"What…? Oh, yeah."

Lee didn't miss the hand that was placed on Kara's shoulder.

"C-Buccs. Let's go! Adama?"

"Captain Adama. Apollo to my friends."

"Apollo's easy enough…. How many bodies can you fit on that thing?"

Lee looked over at the raptor, wondering what they Pyramid Captain was after.

"Ourselves, plus three more adults."

Anders shook his head.

"There's 20 of us left…we took a heavy hit this morning. Good thing you have more than one pilot this time. I'm sure Thrace would like to get a look at our new toy."

He grinned at Kara as he spoke, enjoying the curious take to her features.

"J-Dog, you go with the Captain and Helo. Take them to where we bunk now. Starbuck? Want to go see your new present?"

"Frak yeah."

He took her by the hand and started walking.

"Let's move then."

* * *

As they lifted off, Apollo looked down at the rest of them, walking into the trees. _Wonder what they're talking about. Missed you. Miss me? Blah, blah, blah._ He almost didn't hear when the C-Bucc told him where to land.

"Over there, in that clearing. Don't worry. There's plenty of cover."

When he landed, he saw two more men come out to put camouflage over the craft.

"Not bad, hmm?"

Helo couldn't stand the tension coming from the man next to him. Apollo was flat in his response.

"Yeah…I guess."

Again he was lost in his own thoughts. _What happened while they were here?_ His ECO knew. He turned to look at Helo.

"Helo…Karl. What happened to Kara? What happened to her while you were gone? I mean…"

Lt. Agathon looked down at his superior officer. He knew what the man was thinking…feeling, knowing that he had the information that Adama sought. But he also knew that it was info that he couldn't tell him. It wasn't his right.

"I'm sorry sir. I can't tell you that."

Lee was beyond exasperated.

"What the frak do you mean, you can't tell me? You were **here**, weren't you?"

Helo shook his head.

"Yes sir. But I still can't tell you. You'll have to ask her, sir. It's not my place."

"Frak."

They got up to leave, seeing that J-Dog was motioning for them to get out now.

"We gotta go. There are patrols sometimes, and I don't want to be stuck out here when they're doing a fly-by. Know what I mean?"

The eerie orange was slowly being replaced by a greenish haze in the sky. Shivers went down Helo's spine as he thought about his days being stranded on the hell-hole.

"How far do we have to go?"

"About another mile. This time we found a smaller place."

They followed the man out of the area. After about thirty minutes, they came through the trees to see a small set of buildings, hidden in the woods.

"What was this place?"

Lee looked at the small structure directly in front of him. It was old, brick, and obviously hadn't been used in a while.

"We think it might have been a rest home. Or maybe a bin for the loonies."

The ECO's head went down a bit.

"Great, just where we need to be."

It came out a little louder than he intended. Lee smiled, as he was having about the same thought.

"Okay. Let's go find Starbuck so we can figure out how to get out of this place."


	3. Chapter 3

**As usual, none of the characters are mine. ALL of the mistakes are.**

**To RDM and co: Hurry up with Season Two, why don't ya? Just kidding.**

**To the reviews. Thank you. I tend to write short chapters because I tend to think of commercial breaks. Warning This chapter, and the next, contain slight spoilery for parts of Season Two. You have been forewarned. Ok. Onward we go….**

Kara Thrace was in awe. She had gone over the smooth surface three times, and could not find a single flaw.

"Where did you say you got this from?"

"We came upon a formation of centurions about three days ago. They were unloading from this thing…right into the charges we had already set. Boom! Centurions were gone, but the ship was still there. We just barely were able to drag it back here."

Anders pointed to the marks leading away from the craft as he came around the side of it to stand in front of her. He reached down to lift her chin.

"From the looks of it, it can hold more people than that heavy raider you guys left here in. Shouldn't be a problem for a 'hotshot' pilot like you. Hmm?"

A sly smile crossed her face as she chuckled aloud. Locking eyes with his, she slid her hands down her hips to her pockets.

"I think I can handle it."

She moved back to the machine. It was a work of art. A few things could be gleaned from this experience: Everything in the Cylon world had its purpose, everything had an order, and that they were obviously moving closer and closer to perfection. From a machine standpoint, at least.

As she moved to the front, they were gently interrupted.

"Hmm-hmm."

The new guy, Carter he was called, had come into the makeshift hangar.

"Excuse me, sir. They've arrived."

_Apollo and Helo, no doubt. _Sam Anders was determined not to be uncomfortable around the former…at least where Kara was concerned.

"Let's go then. Thrace…?"

He'd brought her out of her thoughts.

"Time to go."

Kissing on her forehead…a very Lee thing to do, made her turn to him again.

"Anders…Sam. Before we go out there, I…."

"Shh…I know."

He tipped her chin again and kissed her softly on those pouty lips. The sensation it caused would normally have made her knees buckle.

"We can talk about it later. Alone. Let's go find your friends."

Outside, Lee and Helo were getting something to drink. J-Dog was explaining that there were stores in the basement. Plenty of food and drink for a month, at least. After that, they would have to move camp again.

Apollo looked up curiously as Starbuck and Anders came out of what looked like was once used as a garage or barn. She swaggered out towards him, grinning like a blonde Cheshire cat.

"You're not gonna believe what they have in there. Not to mention how happy it's going to make the Chief."

Lee moved a little closer.

"What, another raider?"

She shook her head, laughing aloud.

"Nope. Think raider…on steroids!"

Anders had walked over to Helo, talking to him about the events that had happened to them after they'd left the last time.

"So you guys started raiding the farms?"

"Yeah, we did. We had about 200 people put together, until last week. They started hitting us about nine days ago…picking us off, one by one. Yesterday and today were the worst."

He tossed a rock down the old, gravel driveway at the back of the building.

"We lost a lot of good people back there. It made me realize that it's time to stop fighting just for our homes…time to start trying just to survive."

His laugh came out sounding hollow as he thought about all that had happened since Kara had left…since he made the choice to stay.

"Let's just say, I should have gone with you before, when I was given the chance. It would have saved you two the trip back, too. I forgot to ask, how are the wife and kid?"

Helo laughed genuinely for the first time since coming back to this fracked-up world. He couldn't believe that Anders had put it that way.

"You know? No one has ever referred to them that way. I get a lot of 'Cylon-lover' this and 'traitor' that…but not a single person has ever looked at us as a family. To answer your question, the baby still hasn't been born. Sharon went through a rough patch with the pregnancy, but the biggest problem we've been having are the bars."

"Excuse me; did you just say…bars?"

The confusion in Anders' voice matched the look he wore on his face.

"Yeah. Bars. As in prison bars. They've got her locked in a cell in the brig. Only let her out for showers and to see Doc Cottle for checkups."

The other man tensed at Helo's response. He began to bring up his pistol.

"So, you didn't bring her with you?"

Now Helo was the confused one.

"No…why?"

Anders brought his firearm up all the way, pointing it at a target that the Lieutenant could not see. He pointed with his other hand in the same direction.

"Then do you mind telling me what she's doing, watching us from behind that tree?"


	4. Chapter 4

**As usual, none of the characters are mine. ALL of the mistakes are.**

**Warning This chapter, and the next, contain slight spoilery for parts of Season Two. You have been forewarned. Ok. Onward we go….**

Helo whipped around, pulling his sidearm from its holster. Starbuck saw the movement, and sprinted over to where they were standing. Apollo wasn't far behind, both with their weapons drawn.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

Apollo scanned the tree line, then stopped where Helo and Anders had focused their attention. The latter looked at Starbuck, who then hissed back to Lee.

"We've got company."

Slowly, from behind a large trunk came a Sharon model, complete with colonial fatigues. She came out with her arms raised up, followed closely by a Leoben model. The Leoben wore an eerie smile on his lips.

"Please, don't shoot! We're unarmed."

Apollo scoffed at the idea of another 'good' Cylon. With anger clouding his thoughts, he aimed directly at her heart.

"NO!"

It came from both Helo and Starbuck at the same time. Lee froze. He didn't pull the trigger, but he didn't lower his sidearm, either.

"Give me one good reason, Kara. You, Agathon? I know how you feel, and you also know my opinion on it. But this isn't Galactica, I am not my father, and this Sharon isn't pregnant with your child."

The Sharon model looked utterly confused.

"P-pregnant? Wh-What are you talking about, Apollo?"

It came out as a squeak.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't know. Don't you **things** share memories or some crap like that?"

He spat the words out at her. She shook her head furiously.

"I don't know what's happening anymore, Captain. Starbuck? Helo! I thought you were dead!"

The Leoben model laughed aloud, curiously watching the exchange between the humans and Sharon.

"Interesting how God doesn't always get what God wants."

Starbuck trained her weapon on it. She remembered the other one. The one President Roslin had forced out the airlock.

"What's **your** story? Didn't I successfully deliver your 'soul' to your 'God'?"

It laughed again.

"If you did, Lieutenant Thrace, it did **not** belong to me. I cannot die. My consciousness will transfer when my body is no more. To have a soul is a uniquely **'human'** trait. **I **am a Cylon."

The Sharon model looked at the Leoben with sheer horror in her expression.

"I thought you…you told me…what the frak is going on!"

She broke down crying, holding her head in her own hands.

Kara Thrace lowered her side arm and began moving toward the Sharon. Apollo was beginning to lose patience.

"Starbuck…Lieutenant Thrace. Halt! That's an order!"

She kept moving closer.

"Keep your shirt on Lee. Just cover me, okay?"

As she stepped in front of the Sharon, Kara raised her weapon again for precaution. She heard the Cylon wailing into its hands, repeating over and over:

"I'm not a Cylon. I'm not a Cylon. I'm Sharon Valerii. I'm from Troy. I'm a raptor pilot. I'm a Lieutenant in the Colonial Fleet!"

It didn't notice Kara standing over it, weapon trained at its head. She reached down to touch its shoulder. It jumped, and then cringed, waiting for the pistol to go off.

"Hey…hey! Look at me. Sharon?"

The Cylon was still crying; wouldn't look up.

"Sharon…Boomer! Look at me!"

At the mention of the former Lt. Valerii's call sign, she finally elicited a response. Kara stood there, searching its eyes carefully. She found some recognition.

"Do you know who I am?"

The Cylon sniffled at the question. It responded, if but a little offended.

"Of course I do! You're Starbuck. Lt. Kara Thrace. You're from Caprica. The last time I saw you, you got into a frakking Cylon raider and jumped to go back there. If you hadn't left, I wouldn't have….oh gods…I…I shot the Commander."

It went pale at the realization that maybe it **was** a Cylon.

"Oh gods…I shot him. Lee, I'm…I'm so sorry. The last thing I remember is…Cally. Cally shot me…and I…I'm dead. Oh gods, I'm dead. No…no…no!"

It began rocking back and forth, repeating the words over and over.

Kara smiled slowly.

"Who are you, and what's the last thing you remember?"

"I'm Sharon Valerii! I'm the only survivor of the mining accident on Troy! I'm a Lt. on the Battlestar Galactica. The last thing I remember is…the Chief. Oh, Chief."

She wailed aloud thinking about him.

"And then everything went black."

It pointed to the Leoben model.

"When I woke up, this man was standing above me. I told him the same thing I'm telling you, but he just kept telling me 'all will be revealed in time'. Whatever the frak that's supposed to mean!"

Motioning for Lee and the others to come closer, she checked the Cylon for any wounds…any markings or noticeable differences.

"Yeah…that's Leoben all right. Always has to do the mysterious thing."

Kara lowered her weapon again, pointing to Leoben.

"Keep your eyes on that one, Helo. Sam?"

"Yeah Thrace?"

"Round them up and get 'em ready to go. I have a feeling we'll have company soon."

"Roger that."

Anders sprinted to get the other survivors.

The Leoben model turned to look at her, passing his gaze over her face, chest, then resting a moment on her abdomen.

"You've begun to fulfill your destiny, Kara."

She spun around to look at it.

"Shut…the frak…up! Helo?"

"Yup?"

"If it speaks again, shoot it."

He put his sidearm to its temple and smiled.

"You heard the lady."

"Lee?"

She looked at him closely, seeing the barely contained rage hiding behind his eyes. Kara had known him for years and rarely, if ever, had seen him this angry.

"So what's the story with this one, Starbuck?"

Kara laughed at the stupidity of the situation.

"You're not gonna believe this one, Apollo, but…. I think we've found our Boomer."

That woke him up a bit.

"What?"

Holstering her sidearm, Kara looked at the new version of her best friend very closely. Even she couldn't believe it.

"I don't know how to explain it, sir. But we've come across the Boomer that was on Galactica…the one that served with us…that shot your Dad."

"All of this has happened before and it…."

Leoben's words were interrupted by the report of a single round blowing what brain matter he had out of a hole at the back of his skull.

"Helo!"

"What?"

He sheepishly put away his sidearm, no longer needing it.

"You said that if it spoke, shoot it."

Her head was so full of so much crap that she didn't know how much longer she could take it. She looked down at Sharon, feeling pity for her former friend, who really had no say in her life, from day one.

"Come on Sharon…we've got to go."

Apollo began to protest.

"No. No way, Kara! I've already watched it try to kill my old man once. It's not going to get another chance."

"Frak you, Lee. Either she goes, or I stay here with her. Your choice."

"Now Kara…."

Taking hold of Boomer by the shoulders, she began to lead them to the new transport. She could feel it in her bones. It wouldn't be quiet for long.

_Men. They are so stupid sometimes. Can't see the point to a situation until it smacks them between the eyes._

"Lee, you can take her on the Raptor with you. I'll fly the others in the transport. Take two people to guard her the whole way. If she does anything stupid, shoot her. But you're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"

Sharon looked at her friend. She felt as if she'd been so far away, for such a long time.

"I just want to go home."

_Home. To Him_. It was the one place she had ever been sure of in her life. And Sharon didn't want to leave it again.

Helo laughed. It was a little strange, being face to face with the person that he had initially fallen in love with. The feelings were still there, but different. Apollo was still shaking his head when the other survivors joined them. He looked up at his ECO, exasperated.

"Would someone tell me how it is that she became in charge of this mission?"

Agathon shrugged.

"Haven't you learned that with Starbuck, just keep your mouth shut and go along?"

Apollo looked like he was going to chew him a new asshole. Helo quickly remembered Lee was his superior.

"Sorry…sir."


	5. Chapter 5

**As usual, none of the characters are mine. ALL of the mistakes are.**

**Warning This chapter, and the next, contain slight spoilery for parts of Season Two. You have been forewarned. Ok? Onward we go…again.**

_The only thing better than sex is flying_. _Maybe a good stogie._ The controls felt a little loose in her hands, but there was a familiarity to it. She felt the heat from Anders breath caress the nape of her neck.

"You think you can really fly this thing?"

A warmness crept through her. Indeed she had missed him. Kara was looking forward to getting a moment alone with him.

"Yeah. See that thing over there?"

She was pointing to a little bulbous-looking object to her right, just out of her reach.

"See if you can hand it to me…if it will reach. If I'm right, it's a comm.-link."

He tossed it to her waiting hands. Anders had missed her, too. He just didn't know how to say it. There were nights he'd lay awake, arms crossed beneath his head, just thinking about what her smile was like when she was playing Pyramid. Or how she'd snuck around his bunk, looking for her clothes while he watched her from beneath half-closed lids. How she smelled. He had begun to forget what her face looked like, until this morning, when she came out of the sky. But something was different.

"Apollo, Starbuck. Do you read?"

It was him. The flyboy. The man didn't have to tell Anders that he didn't like him. Sam could feel it every time the guy looked at him.

"Starbuck…Apollo. Ready to go home?"

Chuckling was a regular response these days for her. Kara had found just about every aspect of life was crazy, and she wasn't going to miss the opportunity to display a little sarcasm.

"Been there. Done that. Time to go back to the Galactica."

"Gods, Kara. You know what I mean. Did you figure out the FTL on that thing?"

The engines hummed as she warmed it up. The layout of the machine wasn't much different than the heavy raider that Sharon had shown her how to fly before. It was just made to carry a little more cargo, that's all.

"Yeah. Like clockwork. Ready to go when you are."

Sighing, Lee looked at the people with him in the raptor. There would be a lot of explaining to do. And he was anxious to see what his father did with Boomer…if he would hug her, or try to throw her out the nearest airlock.

"Roger that. Helo?"

"FTL spinning and ready."

"Mark."

They had entered space a good deal away from the Galactica and the rest of the fleet. The last thing that they wanted was for a Viper squadron to get a firing solution before Apollo or Starbuck could get a word in edgewise.

"Galactica, this is Raptor 4-5-7, requesting to speak to Galactica Actual."

Dee was still on duty. There was a little urgency to her voice.

"Raptor 4-5-7, Apollo, where have you been?"

"On an adventure, Dee."

_Wasn't that the truth_? First he would get a lecture for being irresponsible, and then another would come about endangering the safety of the fleet.

"Galactica Actual. Go ahead Apollo."

"Commander, we are coming in bringing a load of survivors and a heavy raider. Do not shoot."

"Explain yourself, Captain."

"Yes sir. Starbuck is flying the heavy raider, sir. It's some kind of transport ship. And we've got another prisoner, sir. Requesting a security detail on the hangar deck when we dock."

Looking at the prisoner in question, he didn't know what to think himself about the possibility of this being **the** transferred Boomer. Only time would tell.

"Roger that, Captain. And Lee? Expect to be grounded a few days. Galactica Actual out."

Rolling his eyes, he brought the raptor into the landing bay. Starbuck and the new raider weren't far behind.

A security detail and the Chief of the deck were waiting for them. Tyrol was something that Apollo hadn't planned on, and he didn't know how the other man would react to seeing his dead girlfriend again.

"Atten-tion! Commander on deck!"

"As you were."

Commander Adama quietly stood outside the raptor's hatch, waiting for what he now thought of as his wayward son to exit. From Starbuck he had begun to expect this sort of behavior. But not from his own son.

As the hatch opened, Captain Adama appeared first, followed by an armed man. The Galactica's marines tensed in response.

"Stand down."

Apollo didn't want them to go off half-cocked and shoot one of the survivors. Behind the man came Boomer. She was deathly quiet the entire ride, only responding to when Helo had asked her if she was okay. She was not.

Commander Adama's face was like stone. Unreadable. But inside he was a torrent of anger, loss, confusion, sadness, and least likely of all, relief. When Lee had said they had another prisoner, he'd expected someone new. Not another Sharon model.

"Commander. Boomer."

From the other side of the deck, Tyrol had been congratulating Starbuck on her newest snag of enemy equipment. When he heard the name leave Captain Adama's lips, everything went quiet for him. People were still talking; he just heard none of it.

Slowly, he walked toward the other group. Lt. Thrace put a hand on his arm to reassure him as they moved. She thought of something appropriate to say.

"Chief. It…. It really is her. Her soul…her essence. Just in another body."

Tyrol shrugged off her hand. He'd heard all of it before. The Sharon that sat daily in the brig, pregnant with Agathon's child, **she** looked just like his Sharon. But she said she didn't love him like that…not like his Sharon had. _But my Sharon is dead. Isn't she?_

Boomer saw him come closer. She tried to shake off the marine's grip that now had her by the arm, but she couldn't. They were putting her in restraints. She couldn't really blame them.

"Chief?"

Commander Adama turned to see Galen Tyrol looking at the woman. _What is that look on his face? Pity? Hope? _ He wasn't going to watch this exchange go on any longer than he had to.

"Officer, take her down to the brig."

"Yes sir, Commander."

"Chief Tyrol, Captain Apollo, Lieutenant Thrace? In the ready room, immediately."

Starbuck was all but ready to follow when she thought about the survivors.

"Yes sir, but sir? What about them?"

Twenty tired, anxious faces looked in his direction.

"Captain Kelly?"

"Yes Commander?"

"Take them all to Doc Cottle for inspection, for the time being. By the time he's finished we'll have an idea where to put them."

"Yes sir."

A tiny wave and a brilliant Starbuck smile was all she could do for Samuel Anders, for now.

It did not go unnoticed by Lee Adama, who felt the jealousy start to surge up in him again as he followed his father down the Galactica's dark, familiar halls.


	6. Chapter 6

_**This is the last of what you get until after the holiday break. Don't worry…there's plenty more idea-wise floating about my head.**_

_**Thanks for the reviews…it's good to know I'm doing something right.**_

_**Disclaimers are the same as always. Little hints of Season Two here and there.**_

Helo watched as they led Boomer away. What a weird feeling it was, seeing her again. He knew that she was another copy…but she wasn't just another copy. This was different. This was Boomer. Sad, and confused, raptor-bumping, card-playing Boomer. It had made him think long and hard about what the Leoben model had said back on Caprica. _'Interesting how God doesn't always get what God wants.' Does that mean that something went wrong? They didn't download her right, or…something?_

Standing in front of his locker, he decided to go down to the brig, to see Sharon. Maybe she could shed a little light on this.

When he came to the window, he saw Sharon sitting on the edge of the bunk, silently watching her copy. She slowly rose to take the phone, her eyes never swaying from the other.

"Hi."

"How's she handling it?"

Sharon shrugged.

"About as good as expected, I guess. It's not everyday that you wake up in another body and find out that one of your best friends knocked up yourself. Or something like that."

Smiling faintly, she turned to look at Helo.

"She knows then?"

Sharon nodded, placing one hand on her slightly bulging belly.

"Uh-huh. Kind of hard for her not to notice. I did my best to explain the situation."

Boomer hadn't taken it that well. She watched her former ECO talking with her doppelganger. _I guess I could understand how she could fall in love with him. I loved the Chief, after all. _ She hugged her knees tighter to her stomach. _Correction; love the Chief._ It hadn't changed. The feelings hadn't gone anywhere. She wondered where he was now.

Helo motioned for her to come to the phone. Boomer didn't really feel like talking to anyone, but she bade her feet to move. It would be the first of what was sure to be a long line of questioning.

xoxlolxoxlolxoxlol

She cringed. She knew it was coming. The ass-chewing of all ass-chewings. Kara could feel it radiating from the Commander, who appeared to be thinking of which choice words he would choose to say to her.

But he didn't. He lit into Lee, instead.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Tyrol looked down at his shoes. He would like nothing better at this moment than to be under the belly of a Viper, fixing some annoying gasket that they didn't have replacement parts for. He hated witnessing things like this.

Lee wasn't able to get out much of a response.

"Well, sir, I…."

"You didn't! Think, that is. Obvious enough!"

Placing his arms behind his back, Adama paced angrily in front of the Chief and the two pilots. _My own son. Making an unscheduled, unregulated jump! _ He laughed heartily and aloud at the thought. _Just like his old man. And probably wouldn't be the last._

Kara's eyes widened as she looked at Lee. They didn't think there was much humor to the situation, and they weren't sure where Commander Adama was getting it from, either.

Lee looked just as confused as she felt when his father stopped in front of him.

"I guess I can't change the fact that you left. You did bring our numbers up a bit."

His relieved grin barely reached the size of her wide, mischievous one. They were quickly wiped clean as Adama turned back to look at them, cocking up an eyebrow to one side.

"But that still doesn't excuse your behavior. Chief?"

Tyrol snapped to attention again.

"Sir, yes sir."

"Relax Chief. Expect these two on your deck after every CAP for a month. I can't put them in the brig. I don't have enough trained pilots left."

"Yes sir. Copy that, sir."

Starbuck's shoulders relaxed a little at the mention that she wouldn't have to go to the brig again. She'd spent enough time there in the past.

"You two. Go to sick bay and coordinate with Cottle on the transport of those survivors that are able to go to civilian ships. Dee should have a list ready of where they can go.

When you're done, get some showers and get in your racks. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. Dismissed."

The three started for the door, when Commander Adama spoke up.

"Chief, please wait. I'd like another word with you."

"Yes sir."

The younger man was tense. He knew what this would be about. _It's about her._

But he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about her.

"Chief. I told you that you would see her again. I wasn't sure that it would be quite so literal, but…you take what you can get."

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand your meaning."

Adama sighed as the tension rolled off his shoulders.

"Sometimes, we get a second chance, Chief. Do you still love her?"

He wasn't sure how to respond.

"I'm not sure, sir. I think that I still do."

The Commander shook his head.

"No Chief. You either do, or you don't. Tell me, did you feel anything when she walked out onto that deck?"

It took him a minute to respond. He'd felt shock, anger, sadness, and…pity. Yes. He'd felt pity for her. She had looked about the deck for him like a frightened doe. And…longing.

"Yes sir. I still love her, sir."

"Then I'll expect you'll be making a trip to the brig at the end of your shift. Make sure it ends at 18:00 hours. And Chief?"

Tyrol looked up again. He had been lost in his thoughts.

"That's an order."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Decided to keep writing. I'm going away for the weekend, so I've got to get this out before then. If not, I'll be spending my whole trip thinking on it.**_

_**Thanks for the reviews. Your suggestions are indeed helping, and most of your ideas are right along with the plan.**_

_**Disclaimers are the same as the last chapters'.**_

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxlolxoxoxoxoxoxoxololxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxlol**_

"Sharon. Sharon! You need to wake up now, Sharon."

Helo had been gone for an hour. Reaching down to touch her belly, Sharon remembered with a smile exactly how the little one had gotten there in the first place. She felt her cheeks begin to warm. It was a new feeling, one of…. _Embarrassment? Am I really feeling embarrassed? _She tried again to wake her sleeping counterpart. _Time to try something different._

"Boomer!"

The former Lt. Valerii jerked up with a start, banging her head on the top bunk.

"Wha…what!"

Sharon shook her head with a smile, a little more than slightly amused.

"Sharon, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

"I…I know. I know. It's just…."

The pregnant woman felt almost as if she were dealing not with another adult model Cylon, but perhaps a human child, or a confused human teenager at the very least.

"Hard to deal with seeing yourself? Feel like you're crazy sometimes? Believe it or not, I know how you feel."

_I doubt it_. She hadn't had a moment's peace since she'd found the detonator in her bag, right before the water tanks blew. It was the beginning of the end. And yet…here she was again. _I don't want it. I don't want immortality!_

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Sharon sat down next to her.

"Just because you're part Cylon, doesn't mean that you have to live forever. You're part human, too."

When she had been led into the brig by the marines, Boomer had immediately cringed at the site of herself. To her, it was like being in the Base Star all over again. _'We love you Sharon.'_ She didn't want to lose control again. She'd just gotten back to the Galactica, and she didn't want a one-way trip to the nearest airlock.

"You can turn them off, you know."

"What?"

"The Others. You can turn them off. Can you hear that humming, barely underneath all the other noise? That is the Others. They are monitoring you – constantly trying to get you to listen to them. But you can turn them off, just like I did. The day that I fell in love with Helo."

Remembering back, the moment that the Six model told her she would have to kill him, she had severed the connection. There was no way she was going to let them near her again to endanger the life of her love, and now that of their unborn child.

A revelation like that caused Boomer to have a little more respect for this version of herself. She understood what it was like to feel that strongly about someone. A feeling that hadn't been awakened in a long time…until today; when she walked onto the Galactica's hangar deck, and saw him searching for her, too. _Maybe there's hope, after all._

Her copy's voice brought her back to the present. She was still smiling.

"He still loves you, Sharon. You. Not me. We're the same, but different. Think of us as identical twins. It's all the Other ones out there that are the fakes."

The idea made her laugh aloud. It was good to think that they could adapt to be more 'Human' like this one had. That it wasn't just in her programming…that not everything about her was a lie. It made her look forward to her future, not away from it.

Sharon stood up from the bunk.

"Looks like we have a visitor."

Commander Adama had come to the brig.

"As you were. Marine? Open the hatch."

His order was quickly obeyed. He stood with a seriousness to his features, looking from the standing, pregnant Cylon to the one seated on the bunk.

"We have a slight dilemma here. What to call you both? You both have been known as Sharon. But only one of you has been known as Sharon, or Lt. Valerii."

"Commander?"

Pregnant Sharon rarely spoke to him. Their working 'relationship' had improved since the mission to Kobol, for both themselves and between her and the rest of the crew…but there were still moments she was afraid that he would still try to end her life.

"Go ahead."

"Why don't we just continue calling me Sharon, and since she actually served here on the Galactica in her previous…incarnation, most people probably still see her as Boomer."

The old man pondered it for a few seconds. _It would work for now_.

"Agreed. From here on you'll be called Sharon, and you'll still be Boomer. Marine?"

"Sir, yes sir."

"Take Sharon, that would be this one, down to the hangar deck."

He looked at her closely, checking to see if there was any sign that she would possibly turn against them. He then spoke to her directly.

"I need you to go down to the deck and have the Chief show you the raider that Lt. Thrace piloted in this afternoon. I want to know what it is we're dealing with. In return, you'll get to spend a little time with Lt. Agathon this evening."

_Fair enough_. There was a little feeling of joy beginning to spread on her insides.

"Yes sir."

The marines placed her in her customary restraints and she was led from the room, shrugging goodbye, leaving Boomer behind. Adama turned to look at her, still on the bunk.

"You and I, Boomer, have a good deal to talk about."

He pulled up the metal chair from the corner and turned it around backwards to sit down in front of her.

"Let's start with where and when you woke up."

She spoke, and spoke, recounting everything she had already said to Starbuck while they were still down on Caprica. She hadn't known it was Caprica back then. Everything from the darkness she felt, to the confusion she had when Leoben wasn't telling her where they were going, to the elation with seeing Helo alive, to the pure fear she felt at seeing Starbuck and Apollo while she had been peaking from behind the tree.

To her, it felt as if Cally had just shot her yesterday. The same pain. The same loss. And the utter weirdness she felt, being here, on the Galactica again. Being home.

As if hearing her thoughts, the Commander responded.

"This is your home, Boomer. I'd like for you to still think of it as such."

He reached out and placed a hand upon her shoulder.

"But there are still going to be some limits. We'll try and set up something a little more comfortable…for both you, and for the other Sharon. Unfortunately, this is going to be your quarters for a while. I'm still not quite sure we can trust you."

He looked down at his chest, remembering the surprise he'd felt as the bullets lay inside him. Boomer saw this, and tears began to slide down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry sir. I'm so sorry."

Perplexed at what to do for this woman who had previously been a vital member of his crew, he did the only thing he knew how - got up from where he sat, and put his arms around her while she sobbed.

"It will all be fine, Boomer. It will all work out fine."

_**xoxoxoxoxolollollollolxoxoxoxoxolollollolxoxoxolollollolxoxox**_

_**Had to break this up into several chapters, actually. Look for a couple more to be uploaded by the end of the night.**_

_**Please, keep those reviews and ideas coming. They really do help!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimers are the same as the last chapters'.**_

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxlolxoxoxoxoxoxoxololxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxlol**_

"Looks like the majority of them just have a few scrapes and bruises. Your friend there had a little shrapnel in him that we had to take out, and a minor liver laceration. Nothing a little time taking up space in one of my beds won't cure."

She looked over at Anders, who at the moment was sleeping peacefully. The she looked up at Cottle again.

"So, how long before we can transport them to the civilian ships?"

Lee stood with his arms crossed, watching her carefully. Starbuck was relaxed, and yet for the moment, all business. She stood there, still dirty in her military issue tanks and trousers, one hand on her left hip while gesticulating with the other. Every little movement she made kept his attention.

Kara noticed. She looked curiously at him from the corner of her eye while listening to the doctor's answer.

"Well, Lieutenant, eighteen of them will be ready for transport in the morning. The other two…"

Doc Cottle flipped over the chart that was in his hand.

"A Thomas Isgette; he and your friend Mr. Anders will need to stay here for observation."

He turned to Lee.

"Now, I know the Old Man told you to come down here and check on them. Well, you've done it. Unless you're going to stay around and start changing bedpans or monitoring blood pressures, get out. The both of you."

Kara reached down to touch Anders on the leg. _Still dreaming._ Apollo touched her on the arm.

"Let's go, Starbuck."

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_Ah…much better_. She turned and let the warm water slide down her back. It took away some of the aches and pains. She was so tired from the day's activities. Starbuck looked over at Lee, who was busy cleaning some of his finer parts.

"Do you need some help?"

He'd caught her looking at him. They'd gotten so used to taking showers in the co-ed head that it never occurred to them they shouldn't be looking at each other that way.

"No. Do you?"

Lee smiled at the challenging tone of her voice. He offered up the previously hidden bar of soap.

"Would you?"

His back turned toward her, proffered for a good scrubbing.

Kara laughed aloud. She went slowly, starting at the top of his broad, strong shoulders. Lee involuntarily tensed with each movement of her hands, swirling and swirling the lather. Little bolts of electricity flew from her fingers down his spine. He jumped.

"Relax, Lee. I'm not going to bite you."

_I wish._ He willed his body to calm down, but some things were getting harder by the moment.

She was enjoying it, too; remembering back to the mistake she had made with Baltar, and wishing it had been Lee instead. Kara barely noticed when he turned around and grabbed her hands.

"Kara…I…."

Blinking, she looked into those heavenly blue eyes. It was so easy to get lost in those eyes. They could reach down inside her and tug at her soul. She remembered his kiss, and the way that it had made her feel.

Then she thought of Sam. It made her drop the soap and tug her hands away.

"Sorry…I…we've go to go. Chow time's up in half an hour."

She missed the look of disappointment on his face as he turned away and rinsed off.

"Yeah. Right. We wouldn't want to miss our time in the mess hall, would we?"

The sarcasm he displayed was unmistakable. She tried to counter as she wrapped her towel around and followed him back to the lockers.

"Lee…come on!"

It was quiet in the officer's quarters. As Kara opened her locker, she smiled at the picture of herself with Zak, and with Lee. _Maybe it's time to take it down... time to move on_. She made a move to remove it, but just folded it up, leaving Lee alone in the photo. She tucked it back in the doorframe.

Lee's breath was touching her skin as he stood behind her. He knew why she'd done that.

"Tell me something, Kara. Do you love him?"

She turned around, unable to look him in the eye. Tugging at the corner of her bottom lip, she mumbled what she hoped would pass for an answer.

"I don't know, Lee. I really can't answer that, you know?"

"I see."

Apollo straightened up, and turning on his heel, stepped to leave the room. He stopped at the edge of the doorway, turning around for one last remark.

"Oh…and Kara? Don't come to me when your heart is broken."

She slammed the locker door shut with a punch…almost wishing it had been his face.


	9. Chapter 9

**Next up: More of the same.**

**Same Disclaimers. Have fun!**

**Xoxoxoxoxoxlolololololololololxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxololololololololololololololo**

The whizzing of power ratchets and banging of wrenches surrounded them, but Galen Tyrol heard none of it. He was too busy watching her inspect Starbuck's new plaything. She was walking around it carefully, looking at it almost…appreciatively. A little shudder went down his back as he saw the smile on her face when she turned to speak to him.

"It's a transport ship."

His head cocked to the side and with furrowed brow he asked her.

"Excuse me? A-a what?"

"A transport ship."

She was running her hand along the surface. Just like his Sharon had done to the Cylon raider. She motioned for him to come inside with her.

"Bring your laptop. We need to run a diagnostic."

He grabbed the laptop from the deck and quickly followed. From the time the raider had been unloaded, the Chief had just let it sit there, its hatch wide open. He was wary of it. It was a magnificent machine, just as the first had been. But he got chills looking at it. Something was different.

"They were made for transporting humanoid Cylons, not the toaster types. They were to be used to move large groups from one point to another. But when we realized they wouldn't fit in technologically with the Colonies' other ships, they were abandonded. Or so I thought."

Sharon turned to smile at him again, like she was talking to a good friend.

"You know? I haven't really seen one of these up close. I've only accessed the data on them once."

Tyrol was not impressed. He looked at her, crossed his arms and spoke in a deadpan voice.

"That's nice."

Reaching for the laptop in his hand, she changed to a more serious tone.

"Ask me, Chief."

He blinked and shook his head, as if trying to clear it of cobwebs.

"What?"

Sharon sighed. Now she understood why Lieutenant Thrace was always saying that men were 'painfully stupid'.

"Go ahead and ask me about Boomer, Chief. This diagnostic is going to take a little while."

"H-how did you know…that I was…thinking…? You know what? Never mind."

Pacing would have to suffice to pass the time. _Yeah. Just walk back and forth…back and forth. Maybe if I repeat it in my head enough times, I won't go crazy thinking about it. Frak it!_ He both thought it and said it aloud.

"Frak it. Fine. What does it feel like? I mean…what does it feel like to be in the same room as her? To be in the same room as a copy of yourself?"

She smiled…the classic Sharon smile – not to wide, not a laughing one. Just like Boomer would…like she used to when they would meet after their shifts. _How do they do that?_

"I really think you need to ask her that. You see, for me…I'm used to it. It's like being blanketed in something warm, safe…welcoming."

The smile became downturned as recent events crossed her mind. Sharon ran a light hand across her growing waistline, and looked directly into Tyrol's eyes.

"At least, it used to be. I think if I ran into a ship full of me right now, I'd just be frightened. Sometimes you give things up for the ones you love."

A beeping sound came from the laptop. She froze, and slowly turned to look at the screen. As he got closer, he saw the look on her face.

"Sharon? Sharon, what's wrong?"

Her eyes had gotten very wide, and she had gone slightly pale. The knuckles on her right hand were white from the grip she had on the co-pilot's seat. Her voice came out very grave and very serious.

"Chief, get Commander Adama. Right. Now."

He left her in the cockpit and ran to the end of the hatch.

"Cally! Cally!"

Her head popped up from under the wing of a raptor.

"What!"

"Call CIC right now and tell them to get Commander Adama down here, on the double. Now, Cally!"

"Roger that, Chief!"

The deckhand ran to the nearest deck phone. Soon after, Lt. Gaeta's voice came over the comm speakers.

"Attention. Please pass the word to Commander Adama. Commander Adama, please report to the port side hangar deck, immediately. Repeat, Commander Adama, please report to the port side hangar deck immediately."

Tyrol sat there, staring at the computer screen. He didn't understand. What did she see that made her so frightened? All he saw was a stream of neverending zeroes and ones, coursing over it in black and green.

Within two minutes, the Commander and two marines were inside with them.

"Chief, report."

"Sir, I don't know what it is, sir. Do you see what I mean?"

He pointed to the computer screen, and to Sharon, who had frozen in place, staring at it. Adama got closer, peering at it himself.

"What is it? Sharon? What is it?"

She shook her head, coming out of her trance.

"S-Sir? Sorry. The transport…this ship…it has to be jettisoned and destroyed. Now."

His face became stern. Why did she want to destroy a valuable piece of the enemies' equipment? His eyes narrowed as he tried to discern if this was a trick. He even voiced his concern.

"Is this a trick? Why do we need to destroy it?"

"This ship…these numbers, they are a homing device, sir. If we don't get rid of this ship, now, they will find us and they will destroy us."

Tensing, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her up straight.

"Let's go, then."

They all filed out onto the deck.

"Everybody, move! Chief, I want every hand you've got to push this thing to the nearest airlock, now!"

"Yes sir!"

All together, they moved as one unit…even Sharon. They managed to get the Cylon transport as close to the airlock as they could.

"Now Chief! Cally, where's the nearest phone?"

She took him to it. He ordered the rest of the fleet to move as far away as possible from the transport, and to prepare for another jump out of there.

Seconds after the Viper missile blew it to pieces, Sharon finally relaxed. Minutes later, the entire fleet jumped. Commander Adama walked over to where the Cylon woman was standing…watching everyone else move about the deck.

"Good call."

She looked at him in understanding. He still didn't trust her…but for now, it was enough.

"Marines, escort her to the ready room. Keep her there until I arrive."

The Sergeant in charge nodded.

"Sir, yes sir."

They put Sharon back into her restraints, and led her away again.

The Chief looked up.

"What time is it? Somebody tell me what time is it?"

Jammer was now on deck. It had to be six o'clock. The rookie walked over to him.

"It's six o'clock, Chief. Quitting time?"

He sighed, knowing what he had to go do.

"Yep. Time to go."

He wasn't really sure if he would find what he was looking for while he was down in the brig.


	10. Chapter 10

**Next up: More of the same.**

**Same Disclaimers. Have fun!**

**Xoxoxoxoxoxlolololololololololxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxololololololololololololololo**

He was groggy, that was for sure. That old doc had told him he needed surgery, right before he stuck him with something that had put him to sleep.

"Ow."

It hurt to move. _Definitely did something to me._ His right side felt worse than when he'd been tackled during his last pro game. _I feel like I'm gonna throw up._ As the heaves began, someone offered up a worn-out looking bedpan.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

She was smiling down at him. All rays of sunshine and light. Almost like an angel standing over him. _She'd hit me if she knew I was thinking that._ Just as soon as the heaves had started, they were ending. He put on a sheepish grin.

"What's that for?"

He had a great smile. It was one that could make her heart melt. Many nights Kara had gone to sleep picturing that smile. She'd thought she might never see it again. Anders reached out for her.

"Come here."

Gingerly, she sat down on the edge of the bed. A stray piece of hair caught his eye, and he swept it out of the way, behind her ear.

"I missed you, Thrace. What took you so long?"

Kara laughed.

"Haven't you looked around here? They keep me pretty busy. Not a lot of time off for extracurricular excursions."

He smiled. She always had a way of joking about a situation to get out of discussing it. It was an endearing, if annoying quality that she had. It was okay. He liked that about her.

"What about you? Got any excuses for why you didn't try to leave that fracking planet?"

He laughed heartily, and then grimaced. It made his side hurt.

"What? You couldn't just find you a nice Cylon woman who wanted to fly you away from there?"

"Very funny, Kara. Very funny. Played any good games of Pyramid lately?"

Anders looked at her seriously, then. He pulled her closer to him, brushing her abdomen with his right hand.

"Seriously, Kara…what about you? Have you really been okay?"

Starbuck averted her gaze. It was a tough question to answer. Yes and no. As long as she was working, she didn't have to think about it. And then there was Lee. Things were always more complicated with Lee.

"It's…going. Life gets a little complicated on a battlestar."

"Hmm. Wouldn't have anything to do with a certain Captain, would it?"

_Now I feel uncomfortable._ She averted her gaze, just long enough for him to think about it as an option. Her answer was really the same for him as it had been for Lee. She really just didn't know. That wasn't the answer she gave him, though. She smiled.

"No, not really."

Sam searched her face carefully, and then smiled himself. He knew that she wasn't being entirely truthful, but he hadn't been around her for almost two months. He didn't want to mess things up with her on the first try.

A cough let them know they had company. The doctor peered around the corner of the curtain.

"Sorry to interrupt this little reunion, but it's time for the man's meds. And visiting hours are over."

Starbuck scoffed at the idea.

"Doc Cottle, it's only 19:00 hours. And visiting hours?"

"My ward, my rules, Lieutenant Thrace. And there's not a single argument you can make to change my mind, so don't even try."

She swore under her breath.

"Fracking doctors."

"Don't think I didn't hear that! You have two minutes. That's it. Then you get out of here and go find some other trouble to get yourself into."

Sarcastically, Kara saluted the doctor.

"Yes sir."

Anders grinned as he took her hand again. He liked that she hadn't changed that much from the woman he'd met down on Caprica.

"It's alright, Thrace. I'll be okay. Come see me in the morning?"

She got up to leave before Cottle came and jumped down her throat again.

"I'll be here Sam. Goodnight."

She placed a gentle kiss on his waiting lips. As she left the sick bay, she realized that her feelings were no clearer for the two men nearest to her heart than on the day she had come back to the fleet.

_It's gonna be a long night._

XOXOXOXLOLLOLLOLXOXOXOXOLOLLOLLOLXOXOXOXOLOLLOLLOLXO

For the Chief, things weren't going any better. He had been standing outside the window for nearly half an hour, just staring at her. She sat in the metal chair, watching him…hoping for something, anything. _I don't know what the frak this is supposed to accomplish…don't know what the Old Man wants from me. _

As he moved closer to the window, she stood tentatively. Boomer wasn't sure if he'd actually make it to the phone to speak to her, seeing as it had taken him this long just to take a few steps. After about another five minutes of standing there, staring at each other, she finally took the phone into her hands first, hoping that he would follow.

She wasn't disappointed.

"Hello Chief."

Two simple words. So familiar to him, they made his heart ache.

"Hello…Sharon?"

It came out as a question rather than a statement. It was as if he was seeking the validity of the identity of the person standing in front of him. _Person. Funny how I no longer think of her as a thing._

"I missed you, Chief."

A single tear ran down her right cheek. That single tear broke a chunk out of the wall he had put up since finding out she was a Cylon. He put a hand up to the window's surface.

"I missed you, too, Sharon. Truth is, I'd be lying to myself if I denied it."

Her slender hand rose up to meet his. It was the closest contact he'd had with her since she'd died. Tyrol could almost feel the warmth of her skin, it was that familiar. _Gods, he'd missed that skin._

Boomer looked down in shame before lifting her eyes to meet his again. She had so many questions she wanted answered. But where to start?

"Galen, I'm so sorry for everything that has happened…for all…all this."

She gestured to her surroundings. She could see in his face that he no longer blamed her, though. In fact, she wasn't sure at that point he ever had.

"I had a long talk with Sharon…while you were 'gone'. I know it wasn't your fault. I know now that you couldn't control it. What I'd like to know first is, why didn't you confide in me when you first figured it out?"

Her shoulders slumped. It hurt too much to remember the life she'd had before Cally had shot her. The endless nights awake after Tyrol had rejected her. The attempts she had made to end her miserable existence. Many hours she had wondered if he had supported her fully, would any of this ever have happened.

"You'd rejected me, Chief. You didn't love me anymore. There was nothing left for me but my work. For a while there, I just thought I was going crazy, you know? Thinking all the time about setting of charges, about killing people. About killing myself. I know now that was the Cylon in me trying to get out. But something went wrong with my programming. I fought it."

Tyrol wondered for many days if he'd been the catalyst to her downfall. But he now realized that he had been the one thing standing between the woman he loved and her oblivion. _And I let her down; let her down when she'd needed me most._

"Dammit Sharon, I never stopped loving you. I was only doing what I thought was best for this ship! Things were becoming too complicated. If only those fracking Cylons had left us alone! I wish they'd never attacked that day!"

She stood there, quietly thinking for a moment, or two. _He still loves me_. She would hold out hope that maybe there was a chance for them after all.

"Chief, what's going to happen to us?"

He honestly didn't know. Fraternization with the enemy was frowned upon. Helo and Sharon somehow kept it going…even with all the taunts they got from the crew and the fleet. Something kept them together.

"I don't know, Sharon. I don't know. Look, I've gotta go. There's a stack of paperwork the Old Man wants on his desk by morning. I don't need Tigh coming to look for me, either."

He lied. She knew he'd lied, but she understood. But she was comforted in the fact he'd admitted he still loved her. It wasn't all she'd been wishing for the last couple of hours, sitting alone in her thoughts. But it was a beginning.

"Have a good night, Chief. I love you."

Moving his hand for the window, he placed the phone back on the receiver. Tyrol stood there for a minute, expressionless. He then gave a slight smile and mouthed the words 'I know' before making a turn and walking out of the room, leaving Boomer still standing there, with her hand pressed to the glass.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOLOL

_**If there are any major grammatical mistakes in the preceding, please forgive me. I finished it up at 4 in the morning…not exactly the best time to do major thinking. I just had to get it all out.**_

_**More to come.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Onward we go…same disclaimers as always…the little purple button at the bottom helps me when I have a block. Thanks again!**_

**_XOXOXOXOXLOLLOLLOLXOXOXOXOXOLOLLOLLOLLOLXOXOXOXOXOLOL_**

19:00 hours. She'd been waiting patiently for nearly an hour in the company of two of the Galactica's finest. Not that there was anything wrong with waiting. The longer she sat there, the longer it was before she had to go be shut up in the brig.

Sharon sat down in one of the burgundy chairs. She'd never personally been there before, but thanks to Boomer's vivid memories, it felt so familiar, so right. Her untwin had sat right here, listening to pre-flight briefings every day that she had been on duty. _To actually have had those experiences…it must have been fascinating._

"Attention! Commander on deck!"

The marines stood at attention, as did she, when Adama entered the room.

"As you were."

He stopped in front of Sharon, looking at her with a serenity that few humans she had met ever had.

"You did us a valuable service today. I am not going to lie to you and say that I fully trust you. That would be a disservice to both you, and the uniform that I am in. But I would be a fool not to acknowledge what you have done for us, time and again."

He sighed. He really didn't know what to do with her. Lt. Agathon trusted her implicitly, with his life. The discussion he'd had with Tigh minutes earlier didn't help the situation.

'_You can't trust that thing, Bill! She's a Cylon! Better to throw her out the airlock like the President did with that other one. You know I don't like the schoolteacher very much, but at least she's willing to show a little backbone where these things are concerned.'_

"On occasion, with your continued cooperation, you will be allowed certain privileges. You will not be allowed to leave the brig without an armed escort. That's as much for your safety as it is for the safety of my crew."

Sharon thought about what had happened to Boomer, and agreed that she didn't want to be on the end of a smoking gun, either.

"I see you understand where I'm coming from. Also, Lt. Agathon will be allowed to visit more often, and for longer than 5 minutes, when scheduling permits."

Adama turned to the first marine nearby.

"Marine, I want one guard posted on the door to the ready room at all times, and another on the door to the Executive hallway. There is no other way in or out. Is that understood?"

The marine nodded his head.

"Yes sir."

"Sharon?"

He motioned for her to come to the doorway.

"Go down the hall. It's approximately 19:00 hours. You have until 21:00."

The door closed softly behind her as she began walking down the long hallway. There was no sound save the reverberation of her footsteps on the tiled floor. At the end of the hall were three doors; one to the left, one to the right, and one in the middle that was open.

As she stepped in the room, she was greeted by the soft glow of candlelight. _Now where did those come from? This was a battlestar, not a civilian transport._ The door to the room shut, and a familiar voice greeted her from behind.

"Hello, Sharon."

Helo stood there, a broad smile on his face. It was her home. He was her home. Never in her life had she felt like she belonged, except for when she was with him. She understood now why humans fought so hard to hold onto the things and people they loved.

"Oh Helo."

The steps between them were quickly crossed as he pulled her into his embrace. Her small frame was slightly dwarfed by his athletic one. She had lost a little bit of her muscle tone since being caged in down in the brig. But her eyes were shining as she looked up at her lover.

"You okay? Mmm-hmm?"

He tilted her chin upward.

"Good."

Their lips met. It had been a long time since he had felt their warmth. Karl had no idea when they would be able to do it again. He took her by the hand.

"Come on."

He showed her to the table, carefully pulling out her seat.

"Where did you get all this?"

She gestured to the table, the candles, the food. It definitely was not military-issue fare. He grinned, knowing already that she liked it.

"Let's just say…I owe a few favors here and there. Eat up. We need to take advantage of this while we have the chance."

They sat together to eat. He prayed softly to his gods and she silently to her God. They might not agree on semantics, but they still loved each other.

The food felt good on her palate. It tasted much better than the chow sent down to her from the ships galley. By the time it usually got to her, it was stone cold. She looked at him again and smiled. It was all very warm and inviting.

He returned her smile, and stopped between bites to ask her.

"What Sharon? Is it okay?"

Sharon reached across the table and took his hand.

"More than okay, Helo. More than okay. Every time I even get to be near you, I feel at home."

Helo nodded. He understood. He felt that she was his home, too. She was, and their child would be. A few of the crew had become accepting of his decision to stay by her, but the majority still held resentment, just because she wore the label of Cylon.

They finished their meal in silence; stealing looks at one another now and again. It was like a new couple, going out for their second or third date, completely and utterly in love.

Helo got up and cleared the table, then pointed to a sofa on the other side of the room.

"You want to sit for a while?"

She nodded.

"Can you just hold me, Helo? For a little while?"

He sat down, and Sharon laid her head in his lap. Stroking her hair, he thought about the time they had spent on Caprica together. Even though they had been constantly running from the Cylons, it had been relative to this: spending all that time alone with one human being. He missed that time alone.

"I do, too."

Sharon had been watching him; watching the expressions pass over his features, and the far-off look in his eyes. She knew what he'd been thinking. And it never surprised him when she read his thoughts like that. He'd become so used to it.

"Helo, do you ever think they'll let us be together?"

His jaw set, as he worked it over in his mind.

"Who knows, Sharon? Who knows? At least the Commander doesn't seem to hate you as much as before. Maybe one day, they'll let us alone. Even if we have to go far away, we'll be okay as long as we're together. Right?"

He ran his finger over her bottom lip, and bent down to kiss her again.

"Everything will be fine, Sharon. Didn't I tell you? Everything will be fine, in time."

They passed the time like that, warm in each others arms, thinking of a future that neither one of them knew was possible or not. Barely moving, they embraced until one of the guards knocked on the door that there time was up. It was time to go back to her cell, to be without Helo.


	12. Chapter 12

A little over a week later, Starbuck was standing in front of another group of pilots, some new, and some only slightly experienced. She was tired – more so than usual because of the early CAPs she had asked Lee to assign her to. The earlier she finished work, the longer the visits she had been able to make with Sam while he had been recovering.

But those visits had ended two days ago, when the Pyramid player had been transferred to the Space Park until further notice. It's where most of the resistance fighters had gone. They were still civilians after all.

_And now, I'm stuck again training a bunch of rooks_. There was still no flight simulator, and Kara was tired of having to constantly repeat to them how to fly a Viper, without actually being able to show them how. It had been hard enough for her to train Kat and Hotdog – and they'd had some cockpit and simulator experience…before the Cylons had let all hell break lose on the colonies.

She barked at one of the nuggets to be quiet, that there was no fracking way she was going to clean out another cockpit when a rook lost their lunch on their first flight out. She looked at Kat as she said so, watching the younger girl mutter something under her breath.

"Excuse me, Kat? Think you could share that with everyone else?"

Kat chuckled. Whatever it was that she had said, she found awfully funny.

"Now, Kat! Spill it!"

Kat stood up, saluting her superior officer.

"Sir, yes sir. I said that the Lieutenant obviously needed to go get laid."

"And would you mind explaining why you said that, before I come over there and wipe that smirk off of your pretty little face?"

She, having been on enough runs with her already, did not have any fear towards Starbuck when she was in the ready room. The only time Thrace scared the frak out of her is when they were out flying.

"I said that the Lieutenant had been being a little bitchy lately, and that I thought it was obvious she wasn't getting any, sir."

Starbuck slammed down the flight manual and started to move, when Captain Adama walked into the room.

"Officer on deck! Nuggets! That means you get off your asses and salute the man!"

The entire room stood up in one movement. Some of the rookie pilots looked like it caused them great pain to make the maneuver.

"As you were."

He looked at the barely contained anger in Starbuck's eyes. A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Pilots, you are dismissed."

"Lee!"

"What?"

He turned to look at her again. Now she was even angrier that he would dismiss her pilots from the room when she hadn't finished briefing them yet. When the last of the pilots was gone, he made motion to get her to sit and talk.

"Kara…Kara, sit down."

"Frak you, Lee. You had no right to do that to me."

There were days that she thought she'd loved him, and there were days that she wanted to tear him a new asshole. This was one of those times. She couldn't punch him. She'd already done that once, and it had earned her a bloody nose for her trouble.

"Kara…sit down and talk to me."

"Like I said, Lee…frak you."

She started to go for the door, so that she could get out of the tiny room, rather than stand here and get any angrier. Apollo grabbed her by the arm, impeding any attempt she had to run away from him again.

"No, Kara. You're not going anywhere with that attitude."

"Let go of me, Lee."

"Nope."

Dammit, he thought it was funny! Starbuck didn't like it when anyone got in her way, or when someone tried to stop her from going where she wanted to, when she wanted to. She grabbed Lee's arm and twisted it.

"For gods' sake, Kara. I'm not trying to hurt you!"

He slammed her up against the wall, searching her eyes for understanding. He could see none. Each succeeding breath from the two of them was becoming more rapid and more shallow.

Kara followed his eyes as they traveled down her face, resting on the vision of her lips. He'd kissed her lips before. The memory brought to life the embers that burned inside of her every time she'd thought of Lee like this – this close to her. He was so close that she could smell him.

"Kara…."

It was the last thing he said before he kissed her. The time before, he had kissed her out of relief…relief that she was still alive after all the time on Caprica. This kiss was different…hotter. This was not a kiss of relief; it was one of pure desire. For the first time, she responded to his kiss, grabbing the back of his head with one hand and bringing it in closer, parting her lips to allow his tongue to enter.

"Lee…."

She moaned audibly, barely noticing that they had already entered the hallway, heading to the door on the right. It was the Executive quarters. Starbuck had forgotten its existence, seeing as they'd had no real dignitaries on the Galactica for a very, very long time.

The door shut with an audible slam. The two barely noticed as they were stripping every stitch of clothing from their bodies, which met in pure animal passion and desire.

When it was over, Lee realized that Kara was crying. Silent tears ran in rivulets down her cheeks, and she could not meet his gaze.

"Kara? Kara, what's wrong? Was it something I said? Something I did?"

Passing her gaze over him, she shook her head violently. It had been wonderful, but she hadn't meant for this to happen. And it couldn't happen again. They were great friends before it happened, and she wanted to be great friends afterwards. They just couldn't.

Sitting up to look for her clothing, she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Lee. I'm truly sorry."

Adama realized that she was thinking of him…of Anders. Gods how he hated him! If he had never helped Kara to go back to Caprica, she wouldn't be sitting here now, trying to love him and leave him like so many others before them. He wasn't going to let that happen.

"Kara, you have nothing to feel sorry about. I…I love you, Kara."

Her heart broke, then. She hadn't wanted to hear that. She'd known for quite some time that he was falling in love with her. Ever since she'd come back from Caprica the first time. But as long as he hadn't said it out loud, she'd never had to deal with it. And now she must, deal with it that is.

"Lee, you know we can't. Not only is it against regulations, but…."

Her words trailed off at the look he gave her. He looked like someone who'd been betrayed by the only person they'd ever loved. She hoped that he would understand, as she got up to leave the room.

"Goodbye, Lee."

As she left the room, she could physically feel the two holes that Lee's eyes bore into the skin of her back. He would never forgive her. Not after this.


	13. Chapter 13

**_SAME DISLCAIMERS AS ALWAYS…DON'T WORRY; YOUR FAVE CHARACTERS WILL BE OK..:) I TEND TO WRITE THINGS LIKE AN EPI, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW I GET THE IDEAS IN MY HEAD. ON WE GO…._**

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXLOLOLOLOLOLXOXOXOXOXOXO**

It was quiet. So quiet. Almost two weeks had passed since her return to Galactica, and Boomer had never in her life been this appreciative of silence. The time was probably 01:00 in the morning, give or take. She couldn't be sure, as the lights were out and Sharon had long gone to sleep.

Sharon. It was odd thinking of one of her own as a different person…and yet the same as she. But Sharon had taught her a few things about the Others, and that she now understood it was good to be thought of as an individual. She'd taught her how to get rid of the noise, too. To be rid of the constant connection to other Cylons.

In the time since she'd found out how to sever the connection, daily life had been pretty quiet aboard the Galactica. There had been no Cylon attacks or sightings in at least a week, and for once the crew was relaxing instead of on edge all the time.

_And then there's the Chief_. Without having any more ships to have to fix, Tyrol had run out of excuses as to why he couldn't visit. So one night, when she thought she was ready to go to bed, he came. Tentatively, he had picked up the phone, almost like he'd thought he was disturbing her.

The visits had been twice a day, every day for the last three days. They had become the highlight of her existence. Together, they began to reminisce over how they had met; where there first date had been-which of course started a minor tiff because he remembered it completely different than she did; how many times they had to sneak off to be together.

And it always hung in front of them like a gray area – the future. Neither of them wanted to taint the present by thinking of what was to come. They weren't sure they even had a future to begin with, when before it had all been so clear. Finish their tour, muster out, get married, have kids. It just hadn't turned out that way…like they'd planned.

She turned over to her pillow, and curled up to go to sleep, pictures of her and the Chief on Picon, laughing together in the sun. It was a nice dream, even if it would never happen again.

ztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt

In his own bunk, Chief Tyrol saw her face in front of him. He could picture every little bump, freckle, wrinkle – the way her cheeks dimpled up when she smiled. He warmed at the thought of her. While his mind was against the idea of him fraternizing with a Cylon, his heart still loved her. Maybe that was enough.

He heard Cally mumble something from the bunk across from his. Walking over to the curtain, he asked her what her problem was.

"Fraking with your head again, sir."

"Excuse me, specialist?"

Cally rolled over on one side to look at him, a hateful, spiteful look about her face.

"The Cylons. They're fraking with your head again, Chief."

"Go to sleep, Cally. Just go to sleep."

But part of him couldn't help and think that maybe she was right.

Ztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt

Over on the Cloud Nine, two lovers lay entwined and spent on a soft, supple bed. They looked perfect together. Both were athletic and lean, sweat glistening on their skin. One was awake, watching the woman who lay before him. The other had fallen asleep, but was dreaming of another man.

Kara's dreams had not been peaceful since she'd left the Executive Quarters. The look of anguish and loss on Lee's face would forever haunt her thoughts. But she couldn't let their relationship go there. She wouldn't. She'd already lost one Adama in her life, and it had nearly killed her. She wouldn't get that close to one of them again.

The man holding her was pretty much her equal. In the short time they had spent together, he'd told her more about him than he knew about her. But with Starbuck, he had learned that patience was key. He wouldn't push her too far on a subject, because she would either laugh it off, or push right back.

He knew that she had baggage. You couldn't be an ace Viper pilot like her and not have seen some things that would haunt normal people for the rest of their lives. But he had baggage, too. Being a pro Pyramid player wasn't all the fun and games that people saw up on their screens. It meant constant travel, sleepless nights…and forget about having a family. Samuel Anders had had a wife for a while, but she'd left him for an accountant. Said the only time he was gone was when people had trouble paying their colonial tariffs.

_This one I'd like to keep around, though_. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. _She's having a bad dream again_. Her features were all drawn up tight. Anders wished he could just wipe the bad dreams away. He looked at his clock. One a.m.; he needed to go to sleep, so he pulled the covers up tight to tuck them both in for the night, and prayed to the gods that she'd still be there in the morning.

Ztztztztztztztztztztztzt

Back on the Galactica, one handsome young CAG looked up at the clock. _She's not coming home tonight._ That meant only one thing. She'd gone to see Anders again. It made him so angry sometimes; to think that she'd found him better than Lee.

_No, it's not that. It's because she wouldn't even give you a chance. _The thought rang through his head over and over again. He didn't know when his friendly admiration had changed to love, but it had hit him hard and hit him fast. And when she'd left him lying there, on that bed, it had changed him. It made him harder.

Even his old man had commented on it. It was a change in his attitude, in the way he carried himself. Before, he walked with a dignified swagger. Now it was either with a slump to his shoulders, on the days that he was sad, or with a stiff upper lip, on the days that the anger took over. There was no in-between.

_One day. One day she will regret it. And one day, I may not be there anymore._

He reached up to turn off his bunk lamp, and settled down to what he was sure would be a fitful sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

_**HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL BREAK…. TIME TO GET BACK TO THE SUBJECT(S) HAND…**_

_**THE DISCLAIMERS BY NOW ARE CLICHÉ; I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR THE FREE-FLOWING GARBAGE THAT COMES OUT OF MY NOGGIN. THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND STORY BASE ARE FROM RDM & SCI-FI.**_

**_THERE MIGHT BE A LITTLE SPOILERY IN THIS ONE…. HAVE FUN_…**

**XOXOXOXOXLOLLOLLOLXOXOXOXOLOLLOLLOLXOXOXOXOXLOL**

For what was supposed to be an "easy" day flying CAP, it had become a long one. First, Kat had come down sick and was replaced by some nugget dubbed 'Be-Bop', now Hotdog was acting like there was either something wrong with his stick, or with the hand that was operating it.

"Hey Costanza? Do you need another hand?"

Chuckling came from the nugget, which to Kara was no surprise. She was already flying better her first time out than Kat did. But it still wasn't her place, being the newbie.

"Ok, ok. No commentary from the peanut gallery. Hotdog? Are you having trouble with your equipment, or with the Viper's controls?"

She could barely repress her own giggles.

"Copy that Starbuck. I'm having trouble focusing…. I may have the same thing Kat does."

"Galactica? Starbuck. Dee? Let Captain Kelly know I need another pilot out here. I'm sending Hotdog home."

"Roger that Starbuck. Apollo's already in the tube."

"Copy that Galactica. Starbuck out. Costanza? Go straight to sickbay, you hear me?"

"Roger Starbuck. I'm heading in."

_Great._ It was bad enough that Lee ignored her every day that she didn't go to Cloud Nine; it was worse when they had to work together. Cool indifference didn't even begin to describe it.

_The day's looking up. Yeah, right. Here he comes_. She watched him pull alongside Be-Bop, leaving Kara in the lead. Normally, he would have taken that position or as that of her wingman. After all, he was the CAG. Nowadays, he didn't seem to care, as long as he didn't have to work directly with her.

Hour one she had sent Hotdog home. Hour two was spent without much chatter; just the occasional insight to the nugget, or in response to one of her questions. Lee did not speak to Starbuck, and the one time she asked him a direct question, he ignored her altogether. Thus, it was a surprise to her, at the beginning of hour three, when he spoke to her directly.

"Starbuck, do you copy?"

If he could only have seen the sarcastic look on her face. She gritted out a response.

"Yes, sir."

"Don't you think you were a little close on that last pass beside Colonial One?"

She looked over her shoulder and laughed.

"No, sir. I think I did that run just fine."

Lee watched her Viper carefully for a few seconds, then shook his head to clear it a little.

"Okay, fine. Just watch it on the next run."

They passed the Galactica, a refinery ship, and then came alongside the Astral Queen. As they made in round the ship's hull, Apollo swore that Kara was getting too close again.

In her cockpit, Starbuck noticed, too. She had become to feel cold and clammy. Her stomach was queasy. She spoke into the comm. in a low voice.

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

With a swift flick of her left hand, she yanked off her helmet. It did not go unnoticed by Apollo, who had pulled up alongside to check on her Viper's erratic movements. After about two or three heaves, there was a new, shiny color on the cockpit's floor.

"Great. The deck gang's gonna kill me for this one."

"What was that, Starbuck? Where's your helmet?"

Kara looked straight ahead, ignoring Lee. She carefully wiped her mouth clean, and replaced her helmet.

"Not that I could hear you that well with the damned thing off, sir. I think I need to go to sickbay."

A look of concern quickly passed over his features. _Another sick pilot._

"Copy that Starbuck. Ask Doc Cottle to check what everyone had in the mess this morning. Too many sick Viper pilots equals no fleet security for the rest of the day."

"Roger Apollo."

Starbuck straightened her flying pattern, trying to land as smoothly as she could so as to not get any more of the puke on her shoes as she had to. Tyrol personally greeted her as she stepped down the ladder, the smell of vomit permeating the surrounding area.

"Frak. Lieutenant, what did you do to my Viper?"

"Let's just say, I'm not looking forward to lunch, Chief."

She walked off the hangar deck and made her way to the sickbay.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxololxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxololxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxolol

"Ouch! Think you could stick me a little harder!"

Kara hated hospitals, she hated doctors and she really hated the Galactica's sickbay. It came with the wonderful bedside manner of a chain-smoking Doc Cottle.

"Shut up Starbuck. I've already seen you enough times in the past few months to fulfill all the fantasies I've ever had in my life. And all my nightmares. Now suck it up. I've got to run a few blood tests on you…just like everybody else that's come in here via puking their guts out."

Cottle waved sarcastically as he took the vials of her blood and left for the Galactica's tiny lab. She respected the man for being a doctor, but hated him otherwise.

"Fracking doctors."

Hotdog laughed as he tried not to choke on another dry heave. She looked over at Kat, who was sleeping peacefully. Kara decided maybe she should do the same. Until someone interrupted her.

"Hey lady. Long time, no see."

She squinted to see Helo looking down at her. The sight of an actual friend put a smile on her face.

"Hello Karl. How's it going?"

Smiling, he got a little closer to the bed, pulling a spare stool out from under a nearby desk so that he could sit more on her level.

"It's going okay. Cottle says that the baby is okay. Sharon just left from here. Hey, would you believe they've got me flying CAP tomorrow? In a Viper?"

It really wasn't that surprising to her. She had met Karl Agathon in flight school on Caprica. He'd qualified for piloting a Raptor like all ECOs do, but he'd tried his hand at Viper training, too. Wasn't a bad pilot, but he'd decided to stay an ECO after all. _A promise to his sister, or something like that._

"Why do they have you flying Helo?"

He smiled and looked around at all the occupied beds in the bay.

"I don't know…something about a mass case of food poisoning? Good thing I don't like eating that much in the mess hall, hmm? What did you guys eat anyway?"

As she sat up, her stomach groaned again. He reached out and handed her an empty wastebasket. She shook her head no.

"No, it's okay. Don't need that just right yet. I, personally, had a lovely course of cereal with reconstituted, powdered milk, along with an appetizer of zambifruit."

Helo grimaced at the thought of the milk, being a little lactose intolerant himself.

"Well hopefully they'll figure out what it is that's making everybody sick. I've got both a Viper shift and a Raptor shift. That makes two CAPs in one day. Nobody's getting any sleep…and you know what happens when we get no sleep."

It was Kara's turn to grimace as she remembered when the Cylons came every 33 minutes. All the pilots had been strung out on stims…some of them developing a rather nasty addiction to them. The thought made her look again at Kat, and Helo followed her gaze in that direction.

"Exactly. Well, I guess I've gotta go. No rest for the weary."

"Hey, Helo?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell Sharon hello for me. I know I haven't gotten down there to see her lately…either one of them. But…"

Helo waved her worries away.

"They're both fine, Kara. I'll let them know you're thinking about them. Get some rest."

He patted the edge of her covers as he tucked her in. It made her think of Apollo, and how he used to do the same thing whenever she wasn't feeling quite herself.

She rolled over, hoping that after a little rest, she could get the hell out of this fracking hole and back out amongst the stars, where she belonged.

**XOXOXOXOXLOLLOLXOXOXOXOXOXLOLLOLXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Watch for another installment tonight. This was part one of this chapter. I didn't have enough time to type up the next part yet. I write most of this down on paper, and then hack it out on the comp screen before I upload it for posting here. **_

_**Happy reading!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**NEXT PART OF THE DITTY; SAME DISCLAIMERS AS THE LAST CHAPTER. THERE IS SOME SPOILERY IN THIS ONE FOR SURE-YOU HAVE BEEN FOREWARNED.**_

_**HAPPY READING!**_

_**XOXOXOXOXOXLOLOLOLOXOXOXOXOXOLOLXOXOXOXOLOLOLOLOLOXO**_

"So that's it? Hmm?"

He looked down at the reports that the doctor had placed in his hand. Seven pilots out sick. Two more on the verge of exhaustion. It was a perfect time for unexpected guests.

Taking a long drag off of his customary cigarette, Doc Cottle nodded at Commander Adama. Most of them would be able to leave in a few hours.

"Lee's in there, too. We still haven't pinpointed it to one specific food, but we know that all of them had something in the dairy group. A few of them have it worse than the others."

Cottle pointed to the report for Kara Thrace. As tough as she was, her symptoms were worse than everyone except maybe Hotdog's. With his thumb on his chin and a finger on his bottom lip, Adama looked up at his old friend.

"Well, let's go see them, then. Shall we?"

"You first, Bill."

Adama laughed. There were still some perks to being the man in charge.

As they entered the room, a few of the faces they had come to see greeted them in return. William Adama was reminded of a time when he and Colonel Tigh had gotten seriously inebriated and wound up in sickbay together. It still brought a smile to his face.

"Okay. The following people are dismissed: Hotdog, Kat, Racetrack. The following personnel have to remain in observation for another twenty-four hours: Apollo, Starbuck, Stryker and Jailbait. What colorful names they come up with today."

Hotdog jumped up, then stopped; unsure if he should be leaving before anyone else. The Commander nodded at him.

"Go ahead, son. Get a shower and get into your racks. That's an order."

The three that had been dismissed saluted him in unison.

"Sir, yes sir."

And they ran out of the room.

Starbuck sat up in her bed. She knew something was up when she hadn't been released, even though her fever had been gone longer than the others'. Slowly, Cottle and Adama came nearer, and they closed the curtain behind them.

"Sir?"

Outside, Lee Adama was listening intently, trying to catch anything that the older gentlemen would say to her. Much as he'd tried to hate her, he still didn't want anything to happen to her.

"Lieutenant Thrace. How long have you been feeling sick to your stomach?"

Kara looked down at her hands. It had really been a couple of days' worth of queasiness, but she'd chalked it up to a virus. She hadn't told anyone because she would have been quarantined, and they wouldn't have let her off ship again for a while to go see Sam. Sheepishly, she looked up at the Commander as she replied.

"A couple of days, sir. I didn't really think anything of it…just a cold, I guess."

The elder Adama sighed. He understood why she hadn't told anyone, but he wished she'd trusted him enough to say something. _I wouldn't have grounded her._

"Starbuck, the next time you're feeling sick, just come tell me. I wouldn't have grounded you, even in your condition."

Kara blinked. In her _condition? What the frak is he talking about?_

"Excuse me, sir. My…my wh-what?"

Doc Cottle pulled a report out of his stack, handing it to the pilot.

"I ran some standard blood tests on you, just like the rest of the group. But both your RBCs and your WBCs were a little high. So, under the advice of the Commander, I ran a few more…selective exams. Congratulations Lieutenant. You're pregnant."

The only other thing that Lee heard was Starbuck's body, as it hit the floor. He jumped out of bed, nearly fainting himself, and tore open the curtain.

The father looked sternly at the son.

"How much of that did you overhear?"

Lee's face was a mask of confusion and concern. He lifted her in his arms and moved to put her back in the bed.

"Enough, Dad. I heard enough."

_**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOLOLLOLXOXOXLOLXOXOXOXOXOLOL**_

It had been two weeks since she'd thrown up in the cockpit. Every few days, she would throw up again. Even though she hadn't said a word, the entire crew knew about it. _Gods, I can't go anywhere without getting some kind of look_.

Right now, she was trying to concentrate more on taking her frustrations out on the punching bag before her. Life had a way of becoming more complicated. For nearly two weeks, she had made up every excuse in the book for avoiding a trip to Cloud Nine, but she knew she'd have to go sooner or later. She only wished it could be later.

"Need some help?"

"Leave me alone, Lee."

He'd come by, every day since he'd heard the news…. _Every day since he'd eavesdropped, you mean._ He was only trying to get her to talk to him, but as usual, Kara had built up a wall that he had no idea that if he would ever be able to tear it down again or not.

"Talk to me Kara. You can't avoid the subject forever."

She punched the bag again. Two, three, four, five times. It felt so good to cram her fist into the waiting bag, which now was being held up by the young Mr. Adama so that it wouldn't flay backwards. Sometimes, just sometimes, she wished the bag would just disappear.

"I can, and I will."

Kara punched harder, and harder. Her hands were beginning to swell. It felt so familiar to her. She'd done it hundreds of times before. But the longer she did it, the better it made her feel.

"You know that you can't. I can't. Tell me why I should avoid talking to you about it. What? You're gonna hit me?"

The smile on his face made her so angry. How did she go from having someone avoid her all the time, to someone who would never leave her alone? She should have taken his advice, should have….

"You should have kept your fracking pants on. I told you once before, and it obviously didn't sink in."

She looked at him with hatred.

"I don't remember you giving a frak when I was fracking you. Do you?"

She hit the bag a few more times. She'd hit the right button, she knew she had. But the response she then got wasn't the one she'd been looking for. Apollo started, in a low and angry voice.

"I could be the father of that child you're carrying, just as much as he can."

For a minute, the fire went out of her. Kara hadn't realized that maybe this would be important for him. She hadn't thought that he would care. And then the thought of what had happened to her on Caprica came seeping into her brain again. And again she became angry.

"Frak you, Lee. It's my body, my child, and I'll do what I damn well please with it!"

After a few minutes more of punching, there was a knock on the exercise room door.

"Hello, am I interrupting something?"

There he was, Samuel T. Anders. For a moment, she smiled. Then she got all serious again.

"What are you doing here?"

He walked over to where she and Lee were standing, taking the other man's hand in a firm shake.

"Captain. I'm actually here on official business."

This time, it was Apollo's turn to offer a query.

"And what business would that be, exactly?"

Anders looked curiously from one to the other. What had he just walked in on?

"I've been 'hired' on by your father to keep up the physical fitness of the crew. Apparently he's been noticing that a few of you guys are…out of shape."

Kara stopped punching and began pulling off her gloves.

"You're kidding me, right?"

Sam looked down at her fingers, which had begun to swell. He took each of her hands in his, wondering how it was that she had done this to herself. His touch made her nervous…he could see it. _I wonder what's happened to her since she's been sick?_

"Kara are you…?"

Starbuck pulled away and quickly left the room. The two men remaining inside looked at each other – one with curiosity, the other with disdain.

"Great father you'll make."

Lee hadn't meant to say it aloud, but he did. He regretted it the moment the sounds left his lips.

"What the frak are you talking about, Captain?"

His shoulders slumped. He'd frakked up big time now. _Kara didn't tell him! Frak._

It was just like the time that he'd slipped up and told his father that she'd felt responsible for Zak's death. Lee was becoming the king of hoof in mouth disease. He slowly looked up at the other man.

"I'm sorry, Anders. That's something you'll have to ask her."

He placed the pair of gloves into Sam's hands, and left the man standing there alone, wondering what to do next. The Pyramid player laughed aloud.

"Father?"

_**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**_

"What the frak did they do to me? Sharon, answer me!"

She'd told the Cylon she was her friend. She'd told her she trusted her. And now this.

"Sharon, you have to know. They didn't take my ovaries, did they? They couldn't have! If they did, then I wouldn't be pregnant. So tell me, what did they do!"

Sharon really wished she could help her…but she couldn't. She'd already told Kara back on Caprica that she hadn't accessed that information. She, too, had assumed that Simon and Six had removed all or part of Starbuck's ovaries, supposedly to implant into another Cylon. Obviously they'd been wrong, but what was is that they had done to her?

"I'm sorry, Kara. I don't know. And the only way for me to find out is to set up the link again. I'm sorry."

Banging on the window only got out some of the frustration Starbuck was feeling. She didn't understand what had happened to her on Caprica, and no one was willing to help her find out, either.

Sharon was now joined by Boomer, who also looked concerned for her friend. The former could only offer up what she perceived to have happened on the planet's surface.

"I can only surmise that they were checking you out, to see if you were able to bear children. And now that you are…well, the tests weren't really necessary, were they?"

Kara turned and slumped up against the cell wall, crying. She didn't know which was worse…being pregnant by her best friend in the Universe, or being pregnant by someone she loved, but barely knew.

Her sobs echoed in the bare space, with only three witnesses to their passing.

_**XOXOXOXOXOXLOLOLLOLOLOLLOLXOXOXOXOXOXOXLOLXOXOXOXOXO**_


	16. Chapter 16

If there was one thing Kara Thrace really hated, it was being put under a microscope. And that's how she felt right now. Like she was under one big, humongous microscope.

He was standing there, arms crossed…waiting for an explanation. She could feel him staring at her, trying to catch an inkling of what she was thinking. One problem with that. He didn't know her that well. And he knew it.

"What's this all about, Kara? Come on. I've been standing here for half an hour and you still haven't said a word to me. You owe me some kind of explanation."

Button one, pushed.

"I don't owe you anything, Anders. I barely know you, you barely know me. Chalk it up as a bad move. That's it. Game over."

He moved from the doorframe to the edge of the table. He had cornered her in the officers' quarters, and every time someone came to enter, they took one look at him standing there facing Starbuck, then turned around and found something else to do.

"You at least should give me an explanation. Maybe you don't think you owe it to me, but was it really a mistake?"

Kara barely heard the words that came from his lips. She was staring at those lips, now. It made her think of how easy it would be to fall into his arms and get lost in those lips…his eyes…his…. _No. I can't do that. It would make me just like she said I'd always be. Maybe I already am._ Her mother had always been cruel to her, and the one thing she'd said, every time she tried to break her was _'You'll turn out to be a whore one day Kara if I don't; this is for your own good.'_

"I don't even know if I'm keeping it. I'm thinking of aborting it."

She shrugged her shoulders, defeated. She wanted to keep this baby. Her heart wanted it. But as unsure of the identity of its father as she was, she didn't know if that would be fair to them or it.

Sam could feel his blood pressure rising. He'd never gotten angry at Kara before, until now. He couldn't understand, with the number left in the human race, how a woman like her would even think of destroying a precious life like that.

"Like hell you are, Thrace."

The words came from someone who had just stepped into the room, looking over the two people in front of him. He, too, was feeling his blood pressure boil. Even though he knew that she probably hadn't told Anders about him, he figured he'd already started digging the hole…might as well continue.

Anders turned and looked Lee in the eye.

"And what gives you the right to talk to her like that?"

Lee pulled out one of the chairs at the dinner table. He looked at Kara and saw her starting to tremble as she sat down on the next available seat. Sam was waiting for an answer from one of them. Apollo started to speak, but was cut of by Starbuck, who spoke hoarsely.

"Because…because he might be the father of this child, too."

Throwing up his hands in disbelief, Anders started for the door in anger. He turned before leaving to yell at them both.

"So…this is the reason that you avoided me for two whole weeks! Found out you were pregnant and then you didn't know how to tell me you weren't for sure that it was mine! What, were you fracking us both at the same time, or was this a one-night-stand kind of thing? Answer me!"

Lee stood up to try and diffuse the situation. He only made it worse. Anders reached out and pushed the shorter man back into his chair. He looked at Lee and spoke in a low growl.

"I wasn't asking you."

Keeping his cool wasn't easy. But they had caused enough of a scene already.

"I know that. But in case you hadn't forgotten, you're standing in the middle of a Battleship, not in your own personal quarters. You can't go screaming around any time you want to."

"Frak you. No, frak you both. Thrace? When you've figured out what you're doing, you know where to find me."

He left the room in his wake. People in the hallways were making a hole as he strode past them.

Lee turned back to look at Kara, who had bowed her head into her hands on the table. She was sobbing quietly.

"Hey, Starbuck. Hey. It's going to be okay. Kara? Kara, look at me."

She barely raised her head in between sobs.

"I frakked up good this time."

He smiled, placing one hand on her shoulder and squeezing.

"Yeah. I think this time, we both did. We both did."

He gave her a hug, wondering how they would get through this.

**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxlollollolxoxoxoxoxoxlollollolxoxoxoxoxlollollolxoxoxox**

Down in the brig, other people were having problems of their own.

"Boomer? Boomer!"

Sharon called out to the other version of herself-the pilot version. One thing that Boomer was better at than she was in getting plenty of dream-filled sleep. But the pain was getting more intense, and she didn't think she could last much longer.

"Dammit Boomer, wake up!"

There was only one guard posted outside. She had tried getting his attention, but to no avail. Just then, the door opened, and the Chief walked inside. Sharon swiveled to the window, holding her bulging stomach ever so tightly.

Tyrol could tell something was wrong. He saw the strain in her features. He picked up the phone as she did the same.

"Chief."

Her voice was shaky. In the background, a very groggy Boomer was beginning to stir. _Finally!_

"Shar-Boomer. Take care of her! I'm going to go get help."

Boomer was still wiping the sleep from her eyes when she realized what was going on. She hadn't heard the Chief, but she could read lips just as well as anybody else. She gave Tyrol the thumbs up sign as she pulled her counterpart to lie down on the bottom bunk.

"Shhh. Sharon, look at me. He's gone to get help okay? Shh…it is going to be okay."

Boomer just hoped that he hurried. She and Sharon both hoped that it wasn't already too late, for the baby's sake.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxlollolxoxoxoxoxolollolxoxoxoxoxolollolxoxoxoxoxoxlollolxoxoxo**


	17. Chapter 17

**ARE WE HAVING FUN YET? HERE WE GO AGAIN…THERE IS SOME MAJOR SPOILERY IN THIS ONE, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON TWO YET…**

**YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN WARNED!**

_**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**_

_Gods I'm out of shape! _ He was running, sweat already dripping down the sides of his face, looking for Helo. He had to find Helo first. _Why the hell am I always running to save somebody's ass? _

"Frak this."

Huffing and puffing, he stopped at a bulkhead and grabbed a phone. Lt. Gaeta in CIC picked up the line.

"Gaeta? Chief Tyrol here. Yes, I know it sounds like I'm out of breath; look…is Lieutenant Agathon out in a Raptor right now? How the hell should I know? I've been off shift for the last two hours. No? Fine, then call overhead and get him and a medical team to the brig. Right now!"

Frakking idiot. People were staring at him as he slowly made his way back to the brig. I'm getting to old for this kind of …. He listened intently as Gaeta's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Medical team report to the brig immediately. Attention: Medical team report to the brig immediately. Pass it along; Lieutenant Agathon, report to the brig immediately."

In Commander Adama's quarters, three heads lifted up at the announcement. The Old Man looked at his son and his best pilot.

"Well, this discussion will have to continue later. Looks like we've got bigger things to deal with. After you."

Starbuck walked out of the door first. She was followed by Lee and his father, who until now were trying to decide what to do with Kara's future. She didn't exactly like the way everyone had an opinion about it, but some of their arguments were right.

As the came to the corridor leading to the brig, they were joined by Helo.

"Kara, do you know what's going on?"

The Chief came up behind, still a little out of breath. He put a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"Get in there, man. They need you."

The look of worry on Helo's face was enough to match that of his lover's when they opened the cell door. He pushed past the guards to hold her hand. The medical team had already made it to the room, and was putting her on a gurney to be transferred to sickbay.

"Sharon? Is everything okay?"

She shook her head furiously. She was having difficulty catching her breath between wave after wave of pain. Starbuck came up to the other side and took her friend's empty hand.

"It will be okay, Sharon. I pray the Lords of Kobol that it will be okay."

The sharp look that Sharon gave Kara let her know that she still didn't believe in more than one God. Helo knew how she felt about it. He tried to reassure her a bit by joking about it.

"Just for you, I'll pray to God that everything will be all right."

A quick smile passed over her lips, right before she blacked out from the pain. Kara let go of her other hand and went over to Boomer, whom Adama and Lee were already asking questions, as Helo and the med team led Sharon away.

"I don't know what happened! I woke up to the Chief telling me that I needed to take care of her while he went and got some help! She wasn't feeling well after dinner, so I told her to lay down on my bunk, while I went on the top one. I don't know if something happened between then and the time that I woke up. She just told me that it hurts…that the hurt wasn't stopping."

After a few moments of looking completely serious, it dawned on Starbuck. Even though it was a little early, it looked like Sharon was in labor. She smacked herself on the forehead at the thought.

"Frak me. Look's like there's going to be a new colonist born here on Galactica tonight!"

Adama looked at her again.

"Watch it, Lieutenant."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxlollollolxoxoxoxoxollollololxooxoxxoxoxoxoxoxololololol**


	18. Chapter 18

_**THE NEXT THREE CHAPTERS BEGIN HERE. WARNING: THERE ARE A COUPLE OF BADDER WORDS COMING IN SOME DIALOGUE, BUT IT STILL FALLS UNDER THE 'T' RATING. **_

_**HAVE FUN!**_

_**SOSOSLOLSOSLOLSOSLOLSOSLOLXOXOXOXOSOSLOLSOSLOLSOSLOLSOS**_

"I've examined all of the…the blood and, and tissues samples provided me and…."

He handed over a report to the Commander, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

"…there are absolutely no abnormalities or anomalies present."

Adama perused the paper in front of him; peering at the information closely, as if it might change at any minute. He looked over the rim of his spectacles at Dr. Baltar, wondering how much the man had actually studied the samples before printing the report.

"So doctor, you're saying…."

Baltar cut him off.

"I'm saying that at this moment, this child has no Cylon DNA present in its functioning systems, for all intents and purposes. All indications point to this child having inherited only human DNA from both its mother and its father. From what one can gleam from the results, it has no Cylon genes passed down from the mother. It's a miracle, really. OW!"

_Strange little man._ Adama watched as the doctor began rubbing the back of his head as if he'd been struck.

"I told you to run the tests again!"

The irritation in Six's voice matched the ferocity with which she had smacked Baltar's head. Gritting his teeth into a smile, he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"I already have. I've done it three times. I'm not doing it again!"

"What was that, Dr. Baltar?"

Adama hated mumblers. Mumbling to him was a sign of a person either being completely crazy, or of insubordination.

"Oh…umm…. I was just saying that I…uh…. I ran the tests and cross-referenced the results three times. The only plausible way that there could be Cylon DNA present is if it is completely dormant, and therefore wouldn't show up on any known test until the subject in question has matured."

Adama nodded his okay.

"Thank you Doctor. That will be all."

"Yes sir."

He left the room, extremely aware of the presence of a tall blonde that nobody else could see, directly over his left shoulder.

"It's not possible!"

Six hissed as Baltar closed the laboratory door. He sat down in his chair and swiveled around to look at her.

"What do you mean, it's not possible? I ran the tests! I repeated the tests! I can run them a thousand times, and the results will always be the same! Frak!"

Vials of blood samples scattered across the surface as Six slammed his head into the desk. Slowly, she pulled him up by his hair.

"I am saying that it is not possible because that is not part of God's plan."

Running his fingers through his hair, Baltar tried to regain his composure. For once in his miserable existence he'd told the truth. _And look where that got me_. He concentrated on a spot on the desk, as he spat the words out through his teeth, at no one in particular.

"Well maybe God doesn't always get what God wants."

When he looked up, no one was there.

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxsosixxoxoxoxoxoxoxososixxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**_

"Where'd you get those from?"

Starbuck looked at the vase full of colorful blooms that Lee was holding. They were both real and fresh. She could even smell them. Lee smiled sheepishly.

"I have connections. They're not too much, are they?"

She shook her head, laughing as she pushed open the door.

"No, Lee. I'm sure they'll be fine."

An old munitions locker had been converted into a makeshift mother/daughter room/nursery. The walls and floor were still a cold, steely gray, but the bed and one of the chairs from the Executive Suite had been moved there to provide a little comfort. The most important thing about the location was the safety it provided its occupants. There was a coded lock on the outside of the doorframe, which only a select few had the combination to.

Helo looked up as they entered. He was sitting next to Sharon, who was feeding the baby. She had been born at a healthy 6 pounds, 10 ounces.

"Hi guys. How are you?"

He directed the question more toward Kara than the two of them together. Lee pulled the vase from behind his back, placing it on the small cart the Chief had brought over from the hangar deck.

"Here you go; a little pick-me-up. I've put out a few calls around the fleet to locate some disposable diapers but…no luck so far."

Sharon smiled. There was already a small pile of cloths in a bin, waiting to be carried to Laundry for cleaning. Starbuck grimaced at the thought.

"So how's the happy family? Does this mean you might actually make an honest woman out of Sharon one day, Karl? Let me see my goddaughter."

Laughing out loud, Sharon passed her baby girl to Kara's waiting arms. With one hand, she reached up and slowly closed Karl Agathon's mouth, which was still hanging open in response to the barrage that had come from his cigar-smoking best friend.

Looking down, Kara's eyes widened in wonder at this tiny little thing that was quietly observing her, too. From its mother, the baby got her coloring; soft brown hair and olive skin. But her eyes….

"Yes you are…the sweetest little thing alive, you are!"

Her eyes, and the firm set to her jaw, were all Agathon. She was long and gorgeous.

Lee caught himself staring at the sight before him. Kara Thrace being a gentle, caring, mother-type. It was a complete contradiction to the hot-shot, no-holds-barred Viper pilot he had come to know and love. Finally, he snapped out of his trance.

"So, have you picked a name for the little one, yet?"

Sharon looked up at Helo, who took her hand. She nodded, and he spoke.

"Well, we both liked the name Tamara, after my older sister. And her middle name is Caroline, after your mother, Captain."

Kara looked up. Lee's eyes were glistening with tears that were threatening to erupt. She reached up and handed him the baby; teasing him.

"Here you go. Tamara Caroline Agathon, meet the mean, old, nasty Captain Adama."

Helo smiled, taking one of Kara's now empty hands. He leaned over to speak softly to her in his smooth, slightly gravelly-sounding voice. He looked her in the eyes, searching for any sign that his friend was hurting on the inside.

"How are you doing…really? Have you decided yet what you're going to do about…well…you know."

Sharon reached up and touched his arm, looking at Starbuck as she spoke.

"Leave her alone, honey. She'll figure it out, in time."

Kara shifted on the bed. What they didn't know was that she had already made up her mind.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Keep your shirts on! It's coming, already! LOL!**_

_**SOSSOSLOLSOSOSOSOSLOLLOLXOXOXOXLOLLOLSOSOSOSOSOSXOXOXO**_

"I don't care what the frak the problem is, Specialist. I need it fixed. Now!"

Kara was pacing back and forth. She was already late for her launch. Now Cally was telling her the bird still wasn't ready to fly.

"Excuse me, sir…but do you think you could calm down before jumping down any more of my crew's throats?"

She turned to see Tyrol standing with his hands on his hips; a broad grin on his face.

"What the frak are you smiling about, Chief?"

He was having a difficult time suppressing his laughter. Jammer and Seelix had just crossed behind her back, making faces and gestures she would surely kill them for.

"Sorry, sir. It's just that…umm…you've become a little touchy, sir. What with all the hormonal changes, and, um, those changes and such…umm…."

He whistled as he rolled his eyes skyward, preparing for a barrage of insults. But they never came. Kara had been tired lately. That included being too tired even to yell at Tyrol. She had just wanted to get out of there on time, for once.

"Just get it done, please Chief."

The lack of fire in her response both surprised and concerned him. Not once had he ever heard Lieutenant Thrace say please to anyone. Not even to Apollo. And he had never known her to be so calm.

"Sure thing, Lieutenant. And…Starbuck? Is there anything else I can do to help?"

She smiled at his concern. _Being a godfather is definitely a good thing for him_. That little girl had managed to knock down some of the brick wall he'd built up previously.

"No thanks, Chief. Just fix her so we can get her in the air, ok?"

He nodded and walked off in the direction Cally had gone to see what else needed to be done. The ship was done in no time.

"Ready to go, Starbuck?"

Helo looked back as she came up the Raptor's ramp. He was piloting it, for once. This time it would be Edmunson's privilege to be their ECO for the flight out into the fleet.

"Yeah. I guess."

The whole flight she absentmindedly rubbed her palms together. When they landed in Cloud Nine's bay to disembark, they were completely red and very sweaty. Even Helo noticed her nervousness.

"Hey, look at me. Kara? Look at me, please."

He put a finger on her jaw to turn her face towards him. After taking a peek at his watch, he slowly spoke.

"Look. It's 13:00 hours. We'll be back here to pick you up at 20:00 hours. If you need us to come pick you up before then, just pick up a line and put in a call to Galactica. Ok?"

She nodded. Hopefully the conversation wouldn't end that soon. But…who knew? _All right, Thrace._ Suck it up and get going. She smiled and looked back at Helo.

"20:00 hours? Right? Don't be late, Karl."

Waving, she walked through to the id booth. They looked at her military id from the Galactica, apparently trying to reconcile the photo with the young woman that was standing before them. Satisfied, the man stamped her visitor's pass and told her to move along.

Kara stopped by a bathroom before making her way to the artificial outdoor park. She looked at herself in a mirror. _Not bad, if I do say so myself_. She'd borrowed a dress from a collection of Boomer's belongings that the Chief had packed away. It fit snugly, but had obviously been free-flowing once, on Sharon's tiny frame. Kara had lost a little weight from her successive morning sickness, but was beginning to put it on again as the symptoms had begun to subside. She spoke aloud as she made a final adjustment.

"Time to go."

The light was bright coming from the artificial sun shining down from the artificial sky. It hurt her eyes.

"It's better than the last time you were here."

She spun around, and he caught her as she stopped; a little off-balance. Their separation had taken its toll on Samuel T. Anders. He had still kept his civilian post aboard Galactica, but had made every effort to avoid her while there.

"Sam…."

Her voice caught in her throat. She reached up to touch his cheek. There were hollows beneath his eyes from too little sleep, and his hair had grown out; a bit unkempt.

Anders reached down and pushed her hand away. He fought the urge to wipe away the tears that he could see forming at the corners of her eyes. He was still angry; still hurt. It was the kind of hurt that didn't go away that easily. He began to speak.

"So…you found me. Now, what did you want to talk about?"

The hard edge to his voice was something she hadn't expected, but fully understood. He'd never taken that kind of a tone with her before. She motioned to a bench on the far side of the grass; away from most of the civilian traffic.

"Can we…?"

She walked over to the bench and carefully sat down. Her mind was spinning. She wasn't sure what she expected him to say, or how he'd react. _Better to get it out while I still can._

"Okay. Here goes…."


	20. Chapter 20

"I'm keeping the baby."

He sighed; relaxed his shoulders a bit. He knew the cut off time was getting close, but he'd really thought she was going to tell him she'd already done it.

"I've known you for about half a year Kara. Is that really all you have to say?"

She looked down at her dress, fingering the soft, blue fabric.

"Do you like my dress?"

They both laughed aloud, easing some of the tension between them. But it was Anders again who spoke first, and with a smile.

"Yeah. I guess I like the dress. It looks good on you. So…. What do we do now?"

She shrugged her bare shoulders. She had absolutely no idea.

"Are you hungry?"

He looked down at her belly. He pointed straight to it.

"I'll bet you that is. Come one. Let's grab something to eat."

They passed the time pretty quietly. Sam was surprised by Kara's voracious appetite, which had vastly improved over the last few weeks. It got him to thinking.

"So, how far along are you?"

She patted the corner of her mouth with her napkin, then carefully folded it and placed it on the table. Her face was pensive for a few moments before she answered.

"Doc Cottle and I have it figured at about three months. Why?"

He shifted in his seat. The next question he would ask would be a little uncomfortable for the both of them. But he had to ask it. They couldn't get past this if he didn't ask it.

"Kara, do you know which one of us is the father? And…how did this happen?"

She sighed audibly. She had known this was coming. But she'd prepared for it. Yesterday, she'd had a similar conversation with Lee. He hadn't exactly enjoyed all parts of it, but respected her decisions.

"Well, the answer to your first question is, no. I don't know which of you the father is. The second is…well…not exactly complicated, but…."

His eyebrow cocked to the side. It unnerved her a little.

"Yeah. I know. Get to the point. Well, it seems that when we came back from Caprica, Doc put us all on anti-radiation meds plus antibiotics. What some of us idiots forgot is that antibiotics affect the effectiveness of certain forms of birth control. Namely the one that I happen to swallow every morning before chow. _Now for the really uncomfortable part…the part about me and Lee._

Captain Adama and I hooked up one night. It was right after you'd been transferred to your temporary quarters on the Space Park. He and I have always been close, especially after his brother Zak died, and well…."

She sighed deeply again.

"…one thing led to another. We both knew it was a mistake; at least I thought it was.

And I told him it was, and that it could never happen again. Less than a day later, you and I got together again…and somewhere between point A and point B, this thing in my stomach decided to surprise me and voila! Preggers Lieutenant 'Starbuck' Thrace, at your service!"

"Sam…where do we go from here?"

He didn't speak for a few minutes. He just looked down at his fingers, twiddling his thumbs. When he raised his head, there was a pained look on his face.

"I don't know, Thrace. I just don't know."

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxolollolsososososxoxoxoxoxlolololxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**_

Ensign Davis had thought that Crashdown was the cutest man in the Universe, but right now she was staring up at Lieutenant Gaeta, listening attentively to every piece of drabble that came out of the man's mouth. Most of it she didn't understand, but he'd gotten her a front row seat as a visitor in the CIC…and most pilots didn't get near here.

Gaeta was so happy that someone was listening to his every word that he almost missed the bleep coming from the Dradis screen. He jumped up and ran over to it, smacking the display to make sure it wasn't a mistake. _Shit!_

"Dradis contact! No, strike that. Multiple Dradis contacts!"

_Oh come on._ Tigh was nearing the end of his shift with one hour to go. Commander Adama was over on Colonial One, talking to the press. _With that fracking schoolteacher_.

"Confirm those contacts, Lieutenant! Almost three months with no sign of the Cylons. I don't want to be the one to start a false alarm."

He waited patiently for the younger man to confirm that they were not Colonials.

"No sir, they're real."

Tigh grumbled under his breath.

"Dammit. Why me? Why is it always me?"

He grabbed the loudspeaker.

"Action stations, action stations. Launch the alert fighters. Dee?"

Petty Officer First Class Dualla sat up straighter at her post. She was listening for all communication around the fleet.

"Yes sir?"

"Get on the horn and tell Colonial One, and the rest of the fleet, to jump to emergency coordinates Beta."

"Yes sir, Colonel."

While Dee was busy announcing the jumps, Tigh watched as the contacts got closer and closer.

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxlollolxoxoxoxolollolxoxoxoxlollolxoxoxoxolollolxoxoxoxoxoxo**_

"Do you have any feelings for him, Kara? For me?"

She felt like strangling him. First Helo back on Caprica. Then Lee on Kobol. Now it was Anders. She just didn't understand why all the men in her life had to be such idiots.

"Would I be here now if I didn't?"

She still hadn't answered his burning question.

"And him?"

Kara had been picking at her cuticles. It was something she did when she was under scrutiny like his.

"Yes. I guess I do. But…it's not workable, Sam. There's too much crap between us for anything to ever work. And there's you. And this. See this?"

She took his hand and placed it over her heart.

"This, this place…you made your way in there. There wasn't a day that I didn't think of you after I left you on Caprica. There wasn't a day that I didn't pray to the Lords of Kobol to keep you safe. In all the time that I was around Lee, I worried about you, not him. Do I love him? I'll give you the same answer that I gave him when he asked about you. I don't know. I just don't know. But I do know what I feel, here, now. Now that I am standing here in front of you. I don't want to let that go away. Every single odd says that you should be dead. The gods gave us another chance. They gave me another chance. I'm not going to waste that chance."

Anders couldn't believe how amazing the woman inside was. Sure she was a hotshot pilot. Sure she was a pretty good pyramid player, too. But her faith. It set her apart from most of the driven, shallow people he had known before on the colonies.

"I don't know Thrace. Are you willing to try, even if we end up getting hurt? Are you willing to make a go of it, even if that baby you're carrying turns out not to be mine?"

She looked up at him, peaceful clarity on her face.

"Are you?"

The peacefulness didn't last long. Something began nagging at her. It was a familiar feeling…of déjà vu. She'd been here before. In a dream, maybe? The nagging became a gnawing. Kara looked around them at the passersby. She felt like they were being watched.

"Kara? Are you okay? Hey there…."

Anders waved a hand in front of her face. She was staring off into space, when something caught her eye. _There, behind that post_. It came into view, and she almost passed out. She knew she had to follow it.

"Sam? Stay here. Just wait here for a few minutes. I've got to take care of something."

He looked at her again with concern, then nodded.

"Okay. I'll wait here for you."

He watched her go, thinking of the future that was yet to come.

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxolollollolxoxoxoxoxoxlollollolxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**_

"Why now? Why after so long? We haven't made any mistakes have we? No. We've been more careful after that frak-up with the Pegasus."

Dee had been trying to get his attention, as had Gaeta. But the man didn't realize he was talking out loud.

"Sir? Sir!"

He looked up at them, wondering what the whole of the CIC was staring at. Gaeta spoke again.

"Sir, the fighters are back aboard."

"Well, why the frak haven't we jumped yet? Execute the jump, Mr. Gaeta! As if you haven't done it a thousand times before. Well? What are you waiting for?"

Their stomachs lurched as they jumped to the new coordinates. It was a close call. Gaeta jumped them within a hundred yards of a refinery ship.

"Frakkin idiot. Mr. Gaeta? You have the helm."

Gaeta rolled his eyes as the XO walked away, muttering to himself again.

_**Xoxoxololololololololxoxoxoxoxolololololololxoxoxolololoxoxoxoxololololxoxoxo**_

Kara quickened her pace. _Damn it's hard to run in heels. I know he went around this corner. _She ran smack into the door of another bathroom.

"Frak."

She was grabbed from behind. A hand quickly covered her mouth. She recognized that hand; recognized its scent.

"Hello Starbuck."

The Cylon Leoben swiveled her around to see him. She got her right arm free and slammed it against his jugular, forcing him against the bathroom wall. He tried to speak.

"What? Gonna tell me something enlightening today?"

It was then that she noticed the familiar lurching in her stomach. It wasn't from morning sickness, but from the ship jumping. _What the frak is going on!_

Leoben managed to squeak out a sentence.

"They're looking for you, Kara."

She squeezed his throat harder, popping a few threads in the borrowed dress.

"Give me one good reason not to look for the closest airlock."

He smiled the same old greasy, Leoben smile. Like the evil trying to tempt the good.

"Because you want to know why, Kara. You want to know what happened to you, back on Caprica. Because they weren't just doing surgery on you Kara. They were testing…."

"Testing what? Answer me!"

That smile again. It made her so sick. To think that she'd felt sorry for his soul.

"Testing…equipment. To see if it worked."

She pushed again. The anger she felt was beginning to make her blood pressure rise.

"What do you mean? How do I know you're not just keeping me busy so they can come find me?"

A deafening explosion came from the park where she had just left. _Anders!_

"Because if I was working with them, then I wouldn't have kept you here. I would have left you to that. Now go, Kara. Go!"

Frightened, she ran to find him. He was lying on the grass, laughing at nothing in particular.

"Took you long enough."

She gasped as he moved his hand away from his side. There was a huge piece of shrapnel sticking out of it. Blood was beginning to pool beneath him.

"I guess we took too long on that chance, didn't we?"

With his other hand, he reached up to touch her face.

"I love you, Thrace."

She took his bloody hand, and kissed it as the tears began to flow. A dark stain began to spread to the underside of her dress. She looked up at the fake horizon, which had been affected by the blast. Now there was only darkness; a long, black screen. When she looked back down, Anders had closed his eyes. A primordial scream came from the bowels of her being.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxolollollollollollollollollollollollollolxoxoxoxoxoxo**_


	21. Chapter 21

"What the frak happened, Lieutenant?"

Four Raptors came back from Cloud Nine carrying six stretchers. Everyone who could fly a bird was sent out to bring back the dead or injured. The civilian ship had an infirmary, but the only thing close to a medical suite was onboard Galactica.

Racetrack looked around her. There were medics unloading civilians covered in lacerations, or who had shrapnel sticking out of various locations on their beat-up bodies. There was still another Raptor out there. The one that Helo was piloting. Edmunson knew that he was waiting for any sign of Lieutenant Thrace. _I just don't understand what it is that he sees in her._ Pangs of jealousy reared their ugly head, but were quickly put back down again. She had a job to do.

"We're not really sure yet, Captain. Starbuck was in the middle of it; she should be able to give you any answers you want."

"Thank you Lieutenant. That'll be all."

They quickly exchanged a salute, and Apollo went back to his post up on the railing. There he had a better vantage point to see when she came in. He didn't have to wait long.

Helo carefully landed his Raptor on the landing strip. The deck crew quickly managed to push them into the bay for them to unload. He saw Adama jump down from the railing when he recognized who was piloting. He knew the man wasn't going to like what he saw.

"Kara?"

As the hatch opened, Lee saw her hunched over, sitting next to a stretcher on the floor of the raptor. Her dress and hands were covered in blood.

"Is she alright?"

Helo pursed his lips. That was a difficult question to answer, giving the circumstances of her return.

"Depends on what you mean by alright, Captain. She hasn't spoken a word since we found her."

Looking at her closely, Lee could see that Starbuck was showing signs of catatonia. She was rocking back and forth, her knees hugged tightly to her chest. And she was just staring off into the space before her. Staring at absolutely nothing. He reached out and touched her, but she didn't even flinch.

"Kara, are you okay?"

Nothing. No recognition. No response. Just the constant comforting motion of rocking back and forth. He reached down and picked up her compact form in his arms. He didn't know what else to do.

A medic came forward with a stretcher. He tried to lay her down upon it, but she wouldn't budge; just kept the same stance, like a sitting-up fetal position. He looked at her dress next. She had taken such care to get into that dress without wrinkling it. She had looked so beautiful when she left for her meeting with Anders. Now the bottom half of it was stained; the back of one shoulder torn.

"Helo, is any of this blood hers?"

Lieutenant Agathon shook his head no. He looked over his shoulder and indicated to the person that was still being unloaded from the stretcher in the Raptor. There was a great big piece of metal sticking out of his right side.

"No. It's all his."

When the medics passed by him quickly, Lee recognized the man to be Anders. _What happened on that ship?_ She'd gone to meet him, and she'd ended up unscathed. But the Pyramid player had lost a great deal of blood.

"Is he alive?"

Helo put his hands on his hips, sighing in response.

"They had to shock him twice over on Cloud Nine. You know, with one of those portable crash units. It doesn't look good. We'll have to wait until Doc Cottle is finished with him."

The medics were ready to leave with Kara as well. Helo watched his best friend being carried off, barely balancing on the stretcher's material. He saw the anguish in Lee Adama's face. And then he thought of his family.

"I'm sorry sir. I've got to go. Something to take care of."

He gave Apollo the customary salute and then turned on his heel. Lee understood. He knew Agathon wanted to make sure his own family was all right. Then he left the hangar deck in the direction the medics had gone.


	22. Chapter 22

_**TOUGH TIMES AHEAD, HARRY…LOL! LITTLE BIT OF SADNESS HERE, FOLKS, LITTLE BIT OF HAPPINESS. IT'S ALL A MIXED BAG OF NUTS.**_

_**DON'T WORRY. I WON'T LEAVE YOU HANGING FOREVER. HAPPY READING!**_

_**SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOLOLSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO**_

"How long is she going to be like this, Doctor?"

It had been 54 days since the bombing on Cloud Nine. Every day, he went and flew the CAP. Two shifts; one for himself and one for Starbuck. And every night, he came and sat down by her side. He read to her. He held her hand. But nothing had changed. He didn't know how much more of it he could take.

Doc Cottle was looking over the latest results in a series of tests they had run on Kara Thrace, to make sure there was still some higher function going on in that stubborn brain of hers.

"Brain activity is pretty normal. Not really sure why she hasn't snapped out of it. Sometimes the brain does this to protect itself, but you can see by these scans, Captain. She's thinking about something."

The old doc shoved the reports under Lee's nose. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, but he trusted the old doctor with his life, and hers. He looked up at the other bed in this corner of the sickbay.

"What about him?"

Pyramid player Samuel Talmadge Anders was still in a coma. Where they had to sedate Kara every night for her to actually go to sleep, Anders constantly looked like he was having one big, peaceful dream.

"Don't know. He's doesn't need a respirator, which is a good sign. But if he's here much longer like that…I don't know. He might end up being an organ donor."

Apollo nodded. _What he's saying is that one day, the man might wake up again. Might not. _He couldn't help but berate himself when a little voice inside him whispered that it was hoping that the he might not wake up at all.

The doctor looked at his watch.

"17:00 hours. Chow time. Ready to help me sedate her, son?"

Apollo nodded. He had gotten used to helping Cottle sedate Kara every night. It was the only way she would stop rocking back and forth; the only way that she would relax. It bothered him to see her this way…almost like a child. It wasn't the way he was used to her being.

She didn't even flinch when the needle went into her arm. Whether it was because she was used to it or because she was off in some little world, he didn't know.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours. Have you been to see your dad, Captain?"

Lee shook his head. Every time he had been to see his father lately, they fought over whether or not he should be removed from his position as CAG. The Commander thought that because of the emotional toll this was all taking on his son, that he wouldn't be able to perform his job duties properly. But if there was one thing that Lee Adama had learned from both Starbuck and his father, it was how to dig in his heels and not give up. _But she gave up. _

He shivered at the thought. It killed him inside to see her like this…so helpless. The only consolation was that he got to spend every night by her side. He loved her. He'd never been successful at showing her until it had been too late. And now, this was all they had.

As he laid her pliable body down to rest, he wondered if she dreamed.

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxlolololololololololxoxoxoxoxoxoxololololololxoxoxoxoxoxolololol**_

Boomer listened to the silence again. She'd been sitting here in the silence for so long. Her mind had made her crazy during the long hours that she sat and waited. _It's almost_ _time. _She sat staring at the second hand on the clock – standard military issue black and white wall clock. She was in standard military issue grey and black tanks with olive pants. Never before had she wished that she had never joined the military. It had killed her once. She wasn't going to let it kill her again.

The door to the brig opened. In he walked with a smile. It was so warm these days. Rarely did he display the sadness that he felt inside every time he had to leave and go to his rack. The days on the hangar deck seemed monotonous compared to the short time he was able to come visit in the evenings. It had started off at five minutes a night. Then slowly, he'd convinced the Commander to let him increase his time. He picked up the all-to-familiar phone.

"Hey stranger."

Her voice was warmth to his soul. He hadn't meant to fall in love with her again. He'd told himself that he cared about her; wanted the best for her. But he'd promised himself the day that he'd found out she was a Cylon that he would never, ever be played for a fool again. And here he was.

"Hey back. I've got a surprise for you today."

Boomer grinned. She so looked forward to this part of her day. For the past two weeks, he'd brought her something to make the time pass faster. Everything he brought had to be given approval by the Commander first. Then, after close inspection by the marine guard, he was allowed to pass her whatever treasure he had brought. But he was hiding it carefully behind his back this time.

"Come on, Chief. Let me see."

He grinned back. He liked seeing the effect her anticipation had on her. It was the Boomer he remembered. Her human side was back in charge again…and he was no longer afraid. Tyrol pulled his hands from behind his back, displaying a bundle of smooth paper, and some chalks for drawing.

"I know it's not much, but…."

She fingered the outline of the objects in the window. Boomer was sure that he really didn't understand how much this meant to her.

"No, Chief. They're beautiful. May I?"

He motioned to the guard, who looked at the drawing utensils, making sure nothing was sharp or could possibly be used as a weapon. Then he opened the hatch to let them pass.

"Thank you, Chief."

A solitary tear was falling from her right eye. She wished they could sit here together. Not to be continuously separated by a wall of steel and glass. It almost broke his heart, seeing her this way.

"I'm going to leave a little early tonight. I need to go talk to the Commander about something. Okay?"

She looked at him inquisitively. He'd never left early before. He'd always stayed the whole time…sometimes past time, even.

"What for?"

Tyrol grinned again.

"Now if I told you, silly, then it would spoil the surprise. Don't worry. I'll be back again tomorrow. Chin up, okay?"

She nodded. It would be a long night, waiting for his visit until the next. She hoped for some peaceful dreams.

_**xoxoxoxoxoxoxolollolxoxoxoxoxoxlollolxoxoxoxoxolollolxoxoxoxoxolollolxo**x**oxoxox**_


	23. Chapter 23

Birds were chirping. She could hear the sound of the water lapping the shores of the lake. It was warm. And she was at peace.

"Is it always this beautiful here?"

The sky was a gorgeous blue; almost crystal clear. It was a far cry from the yolky color they had endured on Caprica.

"It will be, if you want it to be."

Kara turned and slowly walked over into his waiting embrace. It felt so warm, so safe when he put his arms around her. She was enveloped in the scent of him; warm, musky. She sighed, resting her head on his chest.

"Sam, where are we?"

He did not answer. Another voice interrupted her peace.

"Starbuck?"

She turned to see Boomer, cautiously looking around. Her friend chuckled.

"I was wondering if you could tell me. Lords, it's beautiful out here. Not a cloud in the sky. Oh, hello Anders."

Sam nodded in her direction.

Kara continued to hold onto Anders, as if she were afraid somehow to let go. Boomer felt her own heart start to pound faster and faster as she watched them. Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong.

The sky began to darken. Black clouds were rolling in, accompanied by deafening thunder. It frightened Boomer even more.

"Starbuck? Starbuck! We need to go!"

"Boomer, I can't!"

She couldn't let go. Try as she might, Anders stood still, not budging. She could not break free from Sam's arms. When Kara looked up, she saw that it wasn't Sam anymore.

"Hello Lieutenant Thrace."

"No, no, no, no, no."

It came out as a whimper. She began thrashing back and forth, trying to get away with all of her might. But Simon's grip was too strong. Kara couldn't pull away from him.

"Sharon, prep room number four. We'll begin removal and transplantation of the fetus as soon as it is ready."

Boomer shook her head furiously. She'd deduced that this man was another Cylon. But he apparently didn't know who she was.

"NO! I'm NOT Sharon!"

She watched in horror as Kara was being dragged away, and she was helpless to do anything about it.

"Boomer! Wake up! Boomer! Come on!"

She nearly fell out of her bunk as she jerked awake. Tyrol was banging on the glass as hard as he could, trying to rouse her. She stumbled over to the phone.

"Wha…what's going on?"

"Gods, I thought you'd tell me. The Commander's off the ship right now, so I came back. You were screaming in your sleep. Are you okay?"

Still groggy, she rubbed her eyes for a few minutes before reaching clarity.

"Starbuck!"

The fear on her face came through with the stress she put on those two syllables.

"Sharon? Boomer, what's wrong?"

She was visibly shaking. The phone in her hand started clinking against the glass as she struggled to hold it still.

"Galen…."

He knew it was something serious. She rarely, if ever, called him by his first name.

"…go find Captain Adama, and get him to Starbuck; Now!"

The last words came through her gritted teeth as she slumped to the floor, crying.

Tyrol froze. He didn't know what to do; stay here and help the woman he loved, or go off on a wild goose chase based on some random nightmare.

"Chief…go…now…."

He broke out in a run.

"Frak me. I'm getting too old for this."

At least he wasn't huffing and puffing any more. He'd done so much baby chasing lately that he'd actually lost a few pounds.

"Captain Adama! Captain Adama, sir!"

Lee saw him coming, and held up his hands as Tyrol skittered to a stop.

"Whoa…whoa there. Where's the fire, Chief?"

He had stayed late in the hangar, double-checking the maintenance logs. Tomorrow was supposed to hold a surprise inspection by the XO. Being the Commander's son had its privileges, as his father had already given him a heads up.

"Sir, I really don't know what it is sir, but…. Boomer told me to come get you."

Apollo looked quizzically at the man.

"Why, Chief? What's the problem? Not enough shower time?"

Tyrol didn't want to say what he was thinking at that second, so he put it aside and blurted something else out.

"Starbuck, sir. She said I needed to find you and get you to Starbuck. Now, sir."

Lee dropped his paperwork. By the tone of his voice, the Chief was obviously unnerved by whatever Boomer had said to him.

"Let's go then."

As they walked toward the medical bay, Lee began to feel uneasy. His steps became more rapid with the sense of urgency he was feeling. Something was wrong. His skin had begun to tingle.

Entering the room, he saw one slight of a medtech trying to hold Starbuck down. She spun around and yelled at them both.

"You with the muscles. Come here and help me. You there, you're the Chief, right? Go get Doc Cottle out of the shower. Move it!"

While waiting for Tyrol to return with the doctor, they struggled to hold Kara still. She wasn't visibly conscious. But her body was thrashing about to and fro, apparently of its own accord.

"Would one of you mind telling me why I was dragged dripping wet in my bathrobe…? Um. Okay. Keep your pants on. Just hold her still; I'll be right back."

Seconds later, he came back with a very long syringe. The sight of it made Lee uneasy.

"It's something to stop the thrashing, Captain. But it also won't harm the fetus."

Kara's body began to slow down. Within a few minutes, she appeared to again be sleeping peacefully. After scribbling a few notes on the bottom of his patient's chart, Cottle reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a stick of gum. Lee's mouth dropped open and then quickly he snapped it shut in his surprise. Cottle grumbled and waved away the obvious.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm finally taking some of my own damned advice. Seeing as I'm the only **real** medical doctor around here…. If the Cylons haven't already managed to off me…I'm not letting lung cancer get me. Now…which one of you had the insight to come check on this lady?"

Lee pointed at Tyrol, who was standing at parade rest, hands clasped behind him. He was struggling to suppress a grin.

"That would be him, sir."

**Xoxoxoxoxosxoxxoxoxoxsososxlxoxoxlxolxoslxoxlsolololoxoxoxo**

_**It'll be another couple of days before I post another part. I figure I've just posted three chapters in one day…heh…heh…heh…. There's plenty more to come…including the birth of another child to grace the halls of the Galactica.**_

_**Good hunting.**_


	24. Awakenings

Still no change. In either of them. Lee yawned as he stretched in the chair. He'd been sitting there for four hours. Every night, he still came. Even Doc Cottle said it was no good for him, and it probably was no good for her, either.

But every night for the past six weeks, since she'd had the seizures, he never missed a chance to see her. The other pilots had learned not to bother him about it either, after he had decked Jailbait the first time. They treated him respectfully like the CAG that he was, and steered clear of him otherwise.

Helo walked into the room.

"Hey. Thought you could use a rest."

The lieutenant crossed the room slowly, testing the waters as it were. He'd heard about Apollo's fight, and didn't want to get on his bad side. Not after all that had happened.

Lee thought about it for a moment. He at least needed to go and get something to drink, and pass by the head.

"Ok. Maybe. All right. I'll be back in a few minutes."

His legs felt like steel as he stood up. _Too much time in the chair again_. His knees popped as he walked out of the room. His stomach started grumbling while he was washing his face.

"Guess I need to grab a bite to eat, too."

He didn't want to sit down and eat in the mess hall, nor in the officer's room. Lee grabbed a tray of nondescript edibles and started back to the med bay. Petty Officer Dualla fell in step with him.

"Hello Lee. How are you?"

Apollo smiled. He'd been paying so much attention to Kara lately; he'd forgotten that some of his other friends existed.

"Fine, Dee. Nice to see you for once instead of just hearing your voice."

The petite young woman returned his grin.

"Yeah. I'm not really a detached head, floating around the CIC all the time, you know?"

That made him laugh again. _It's been so long since I've laughed. _He thought about how other people would be sad. Or others would have moved on already, seeing as Kara's condition hadn't changed any. The visible difference was the increasing size of her belly over time.

"Yeah. Well, nice seeing you, Dee. This is my cutoff."

"Have a good night, Apollo."

The young woman waved goodbye. Lee turned to enter the med bay, and noticed in the twenty or thirty minutes that he had been gone, a few things were different.

"What's going on, Agathon?"

Helo was no longer next to Starbuck's bed. He had moved over to where Anders lay...

_With his eyes open? _Lee almost dropped his tray off food.

Sam looked at the blurry vision of Lee Adama in front of him. He tried to croak out a few words, but Helo stopped him.

"No, man. Wait until the doctor comes back. He may not want you to talk at first."

"Helo? Could I speak to you for a second, in private?"

Lee had put his tray down, and motioned for the other man to follow him. He spoke in hushed tones.

"How long has he been awake?"

Helo looked nervously over at Anders, who was quietly waiting.

"About five minutes. First thing he did was freak out at seeing Kara like that. But, I didn't tell him how long they've been out."

Nodding, Lee understood that was probably the best thing to do…at least until the resident expert on medical conditions arrived.

"Where's Cottle?"

Scratching his chin, Helo shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He looked over his shoulder at Anders again.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Captain. I just told the medtech to hurry Doc up a little bit. We can't keep him busy forever without some kind of explanation."

"Great. Come on, let's go back over there before he thinks something's up."

_**Xoxoxoxoxoxlollolxoxoxoxoxoxoxlololololololololololololollollollolxoxoxoxoxoxo**_

_**You all didn't really think that Anders would bow out that easily, did you? More fun to come. Good hunting!**_


	25. The quiet

_**Okay. I've written the next six chapters or so. Bear with me as I have to take the time to transfer them to an uploadable file.**_

_**Disclaimers are the same as always. This particular story is mine. It's characters are not; no lawsuits please. I'm a starving artist.**_

_**Spoiler warning: For those of you who haven't seen season two…you have been warned.**_

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She looked so at peace. In the short time he had known her, he had never seen that kind of peace on her face. She had always been worried, or hurt, or angry…. Except for when they were alone. He smiled as he remembered her laughter when she'd beat him at playing Pyramid. Or how she shuddered, eyes rolling into the back of her head as she gave in to her desire. His voice began to crack as he spoke.

"Just how long have we been out of commission?"

Apollo watched quietly as Anders sat at the side of Kara's bed; how the man's fingers stroked her now long, blonde hair. Sadness was beginning to creep in. It reminded him of how it had always been where he and Kara were concerned.

When Zak came home with her, Lee was instantly smitten. When Zak died, Lee had comforted her. Every time something went wrong in Kara's life, Lee had been the one there to pick her up and dust her off. And as simple as that, this man had usurped his position in her life. And it was killing him inside. He looked away as Doc Cottle responded.

"Ninety-six days."

"Ninety-six days?"

The words came out hollow. He looked down at his once full frame. Now he looked like he had been suffering from a wasting disease. _Liquid diet, the new miracle cure._ He looked at the older man again.

"And the baby?"

Lee knew that had been coming. He had expected it. Cottle continued.

"Constantly being monitored. See those electrodes? Nothing wrong with him, as far as I can tell."

Two voices came in unison as Lee and Sam looked at each other.

"Did you say…him?"

**XOXOXOXOXLOLXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

His hand had been there so long its warmth was causing a handprint to appear on the glass. On the other side, another was slowly taking shape. She managed a little laugh.

"How can you stand there like that?"

Smiling his customary half-smile, he shrugged.

"As long as it takes, Sharon. You?"

Boomer had no clue. She knew that because of her Cylon physiology, she would outlast almost any human. For how long…?

"I don't know, Chief. I can go a pretty long time; I guess. I'm not tired of this; of you. I'm tired of being separated; apart from you, apart from my friends. I'm being kept away from my life.

Tyrol sighed as he dropped his hand. His fingers had begun to go numb a long time ago.

"I'm working on it, Sharon. Give it time."

Holding one finger up, she put down the phone to reach behind her and pull up a chair. He watched every movement. They awakened long buried memories in the corner of his mind's eye. She didn't miss that he'd gone off somewhere else. Her voice brought him back to the present.

"You're tired, Chief. Go get some rest."

She saw the lines that had formed on his forehead. There were new creases near his eyes. Through Sharon and Helo, she had learned about his pet project, and how hard he'd worked on it. The thought brought back some of her self-doubt. _If only he'd worked that hard on Us, maybe none of this would be happening._

Chief Tyrol sighed audibly. He knew she was right. And, he was pulling an early shift tomorrow so he would get a chance to talk with the Old Man.

"All right. Sure. Lords know I need it. Sharon, tell me something…. Do you still dream?"

She raised her eyes.

"Yeah, why?"

He smiled his brilliant smile, the one he reserved only for her. It made her heart plummet when she thought how hard it was every time he had to leave.

"See you there."

**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxlololololoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxztztztztztzt**

"Two months, and nothing. Does it ever make you wonder why we're still here?"

She was looking much better. The treatments had visibly changed Laura. For the good, he suspected. He took a long sip of the tea he had given her. They had many opportunities to talk these days, since the Cylons couldn't find them any more.

"No, Madame President. It doesn't. The same still stands. We're here because you convinced me that we needed to be here. But we still haven't reached our final destination."

Roslin shook her hand as she scalded it with some dripping tea. It unnerved her how Bill Adama could sometimes read her like a book. She had been thinking the same thing all afternoon. Her life had been…quiet.

"It doesn't bother you how q-u-i-e-t it has been lately? No attacks, no surprises?"

_Supersititious._ He liked this about her. He knew that she believed in those 'visions' she had, but he thought it was a little strange and…different that she was also superstitious.

"Do you also believe that you can't walk underneath an open ladder, Madame President? Do all well-educated teachers like yourself still have such archaic beliefs?"

She shifted in her seat. Before the Cylon attacks on their home worlds, he wouldn't have recognized her. _So many things have changed since then. I've changed_.

"People can change Commander Adama."

"And Cylons?"

He wanted to see if she made any visible change when she responded. He knew that she had always thought of Sharon as a fountain of information, when they needed her. But he wondered if her opinion on the woman's loyalties had changed, too.

"Perhaps they can, too, Commander. Perhaps they can, too."

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	26. Stolen Moments

She had her eyes closed for quite some time. Not because she was tired, but because she wanted to shut it all out, and focus on nothing but him. She listened to his heart, his breathing.

"You can stop pretending, Sharon. I know you're not asleep."

She cracked open one eye, grinning at him. It was still dark, but she didn't need the light to see him. She remembered every wrinkle, every fold. She even knew the new ones.

"Just how long have you been watching me, exactly?"

Tyrol chuckled. He'd caught her red handed in the cookie jar. He breathed deeply. Gods he loved the scent of her…the softness of her skin. They hadn't done anything, really…just laid there. The guard had been accommodating enough (with Adama's nudging) to even turn off the light so they could go to sleep. They were just making up for some lost time, holding onto each other.

"Long enough, my dear. Long enough. You've forgotten how well I know you by now."

She loved to hear him laugh…to see him smile. Not the ironic smile he had worn for so many days…. It had been attached to pain. But this smile, the one he had when he was feeling joyful…it brought a song to her heart.

"Galen, I never did ask you. Why do you always call me Sharon? I mean…everyone else calls me Boomer, and…for some people it could get a little confusing…."

He reached up and stroked the side of her face, down the length of her jaw; up to her lips. With one finger, he lifted up her chin and smiled.

"To me, you will always be Sharon…just my Sharon. Besides, there are plenty of people out there who have the same first name. Just not all of them are identical twins. But I think that Agathon and I can tell the two of you apart. Don't you?"

He made her laugh aloud again.

"I hope so…for our sakes."

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked closely at her, a little confused.

"And just what is that supposed to mean, young lady?"

She bit her bottom lip. Gods how he wished she would finish talking so he could bite that lip, himself. She got an enormous grin.

"Just that…"

She moved ever so slightly.

"…in a compromising position like this one, that…."

She moved again.

"…that if one was a little confused, it could get.…"

And again.

"Gods woman!"

He reached down underneath the covers and removed her right hand from where it was resting. He smothered the next words that she tried to let escape by pressing his mouth hard against hers. Galen was beginning to think that he'd actually get more sleep if he left her there and went straight to his rack. He playfully tried to sound menacing.

"Enough already! I've got an early shift tomorrow, and if you really want me to come back tomorrow…ow!"

Sharon had moved her way up and bit him on the earlobe.

"Keep your pants on Chief. I'm too tired to attempt anything else. Goodnight."

He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her tiny body pressed tightly alongside his. In hushed tones he managed to grumble before he let go and went to sleep.

"They are on. And that's exactly where they're going to stay…for now…."

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	27. Tentative friends

"Okay, do it again. Tuck, kick, tuck, and roll. Good job, Dualla…. Jailbait? If you concentrated on your moves half as much as you ran your mouth, you might have rolled with the big boys by now…. Hello Captain Adama."

Lee had thought he could enter the room unnoticed. But there was one thing about Anders. No matter how much he disliked the guy because of Kara, he was a genuinely nice man. He said hello to all that entered his classes; not just the officers, like Lee. Adama raised his hand lightly in response.

"Okay. Those of you who want to do the Pyramid training? Class is at 06:00 tomorrow morning. Don't be late."

Sam walked over to where the Captain was standing…which also happened to be next to the towel rack. He'd seen the man in action, and had grown to respect his talents. Anders knew a good person when he saw one.

"How's it going Anders?"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he started towards the doorway.

"Walk with me, would you? I've got fire suppression training in fifteen minutes."

They walked down toward the showers. Lee felt a little uncomfortable standing there while the other man stripped. There were a few other people there, taking advantage of the late afternoon hour to catch some of the hotter water. Sam noticed the look on his face and laughed.

"Don't worry, Captain. I just wanted to talk to you, but I don't seem to have a lot of time lately. I wanted to know how you've been coping."

Quizzically, he looked at the man again, wanting to beat him over the head for asking the obvious. Lee had lost about fifteen pounds, and the dark circles under his eyes had been there through a myriad of sleepless nights. The times he could sleep involved horrible nightmares that he'd rather not discuss.

"Are you kidding me?"

Anders sighed.

"That bad, huh? I'd thought so. Let's just say that you're looking a little rough around the edges, man."

Apollo laughed. He must look worse than he'd thought.

"Thanks. My dad's already telling me I need to take some shore leave. But I just can't…."

Anders nodded, understanding. Captain Adama had kept his distance where Kara was concerned. If Sam came to visit and Lee was there, Adama would get up and leave them alone together. Where Lee used to read to her, Sam now brought in the books. But he understood why the other man didn't want to leave the ship. He still held out hope.

"Yeah. I know. Look, I wondered if you could do me a favor, then?"

Cocking his head to one side, he wondered what he could do that the other man wanted.

"I do have to leave the ship tomorrow for my training. We have to go set fire to one of the bays in the refinery barge…to learn how to put out caustic blazes and not burn our lungs from the inside out…or something like that. I wondered if you could watch her tonight and tomorrow; if you don't have an early shift or anything. I need all the rest I can get until I get back. Whaddya say?"

Surprised was the least of the emotions that ran through him at the request. Joy was another. Then fear, hope…there were so many, he couldn't count.

"Yeah…sure. I'll be there. Right after chow time."

Reaching out, just as he had the first time, Anders shook Lee's outstretched hand. They understood each other, and he knew the Captain could use a little peace.

"See you in two days then."

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Later that evening, Lee sat in the quiet of the medical bay. It wasn't right to call it the sick bay anymore. There were very few actual sick people who passed through its doors these days.

He looked down at Starbuck. Hard to believe that this was now what was left of his best friend. Not that there was anything wrong with it. Her belly had grown large. _Only 34 more days to go. _He'd be a liar if he didn't admit that he was dying with anticipation of the birth of her son. _It just won't be the same if she's not 'there'_.

Apollo reached down to touch her hair. It had also grown. It was long and soft, and would probably look pretty nice in a ponytail…kind of like the way Racetrack wore her hair. But he knew Kara. She would hate it. It would look too much like a real lady. The Kara he was friends with liked to smoke cigars and kick superior assholes' behinds.

"Dammit, Kara…I hope you plan on waking up sometime soon. I don't think I can take much more of this."

Tonight alone, Kara had 5 visitors. He just couldn't seem to get any private time with her. So far, Helo and Sharon had passed by to show an ever-growing Tamara her auntie Kara; Tyrol and Boomer had also paid a visit. Somehow, the Chief had talked his father into allowing her a single marine escort so that she could come and talk to her best friend. It was a little sad, really. Based on the actions of another identity altogether, she had lost some of her basic freedoms.

"gods…I love you, Kara. We all love you, Kara. Just come back to us."

He laid his head down on the edge of her blankets, and fell into the first peaceful sleep he'd had in months.

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	28. Awakenings2

"Look, there! She's dreaming again."

And they don't seem to be nightmares. To Sharon, that was a relief. Kara was nearing the 36 week mark of her pregnancy. She hadn't come out of the state she was in, but at least she was now too big to be doing much rocking back and forth.

"Mommy, tummy!"

Helo reached down and grabbed little Tamara. She was growing fast; faster than most. But it wasn't something that hadn't been seen in normal human babies, either. He knew that Sharon was worried at her rapid advancement, but so far Doc Cottle said that everything was going fine. The only thing that bothered him was when that creep Baltar would stare at them from around bulkheads and down corridors. Too bad they were stuck on this ship.

"Honey, Mommy's checking on Auntie Starbuck. We'll go get some num-nums real soon, okay?"

Sharon smiled. It was so endearing when he talked baby talk to Tamara. It was like the big, tough colonial soldier had disappeared and was replaced by a slab of pliable goo. Currently that goo was wrapped around her daughter's little finger. She reached over and patted Tam's little head.

"Mommy's almost finished. We're just waiting on Uncle Galen to come pick you up so Mommy and Daddy can have their physicals. You want to go get some ice cream with Uncle Galen?"

Tamara crossed her arms in a huff, sending that little Agathon pout into overdrive. Helo laughed, because he thought the girl resembled him less and her mother more with each passing day.

"No want Chiepf. Chiepf bring udder wady."

Helo lifted her up and started tickling her to get rid of miss poutiness. Within seconds, she was his giggling little girl again. Sharon turned and looked solemnly at her daughter.

"It's okay, honey. The other lady is Mommy's sister, that's all. Remember?"

When she had first taken Tam down to the brig to see Boomer, confusion abounded. The baby had tried to nurse on her. Poor kid screamed for a good hour. She'd been mad at Boomer ever since. Sharon looked up at Tyrol, who had just entered the room. But no Boomer.

"Hey Chief, any news?"

Tyrol shook his head. He hadn't seen Cottle all day. Apollo had made a run with him over to the Astral Queen to check out a few cases of food poisoning. The longer the fleet stayed away from hospitable planets, the more outbreaks they were having. _We need to find a place to replenish our stores._

"The Commander has Boomer working on it, though. She's helping to brief a few nuggets on how to search for water and stuff like that. Ready to go, kiddo?"

After a few seconds, Tamara appeared to have made up her mind. Uncle Galen wasn't that bad after all. She jumped up into his waiting arms.

"I'll keep her until you come get me. She seems to like Jammer. Figure I can't get him to do anything else right, I'll let him watch the kid."

Helo stood up, his arms now free of their cargo.

"You be a good girl. Daddy and Mommy will come get you a little later. Hey, Chief? Careful with Jammer…he's just a kid himself."

Tyrol waved and Tamara stuck her tongue out as they started out of the med bay.

"Very funny, guys. Very funny."

"Helo?"

"Yeah, Sharon?"

"I think he's doing better now. Don't you?"

"Yeah."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist as he looked down at his best friend, still sleeping quietly. He smiled as he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Funny what love can do to you."

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"Where am I?"

The light was shining brightly in her eyes. She was standing in a field of poppies. Their scent wafted up to her nostrils. Turning around, she asked the question of him again, her voice echoing in the silence.

"I said, where am I?"

"Come. I've something to show you."

The man beckoned, and she followed. She wasn't sure where she was, or where they were going. But since she didn't seem to know anything at the moment, it was better for her to find out, than to be left in the dark. _I guess. _They entered a large room. There was a small television at one end, with a chair placed in front of it.

"Watch. You'll see."

A series of images flashed across the screen. A young man, smoking a cigar and shaking a bottle of champagne. The same young man punching her in the face. She rubbed her jaw as her skin felt the memory of it. Yet it was something that her very mind, could not.

"Turn it off. I don't want to see any more of it."

The man turned her back around. They weren't finished here.

"Patience, Kara. It's not finished, yet."

_Kara? I guess that's supposed to be my name?_ The screen started again. The images were a little different this time. She was laughing. In bed with a different man. He looked strong. Sexy. _How do I even know what sexy is? _ They were sleeping peacefully. As she looked down in response to the kicking in her rather large belly, realization dawned on her.

"Oh…ohhhh! I get it. I get it! But, wait a minute. What's going on? You still never answered my first question. And now I just have more."

He smiled. Things really never changed.

"All of this has happened before and it will all happen again."

_What a stupid thing to say. _

"Look, mister. I need to know a few things. Let's start with, oh, who am I? Where am I? And who were those people I saw on the little…what did you call it? Television. That's what you said, right? Come on…just a few hints."

Walking behind her, the man gingerly placed his hands on her shoulders. It was like talking to one of them, really. Kind of like reprogramming one of their own.

"You're Lieutenant Kara Thrace. You live and work on the Battlestar Galactica. The person who hit you in the first part was someone named Lee Adama. And the second man is named Samuel Anders. The rest you can figure out on your own."

Leoben smiled. Kara knew from instinct that he wasn't telling her the entire truth. It wasn't that he was lying to her, either. Just that he was leaving out a few details, that was all. She felt him as he leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"It's time to wake up, Kara. Go on. Wake up."

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	29. Heartache

They were in the middle of a card game when it happened. If they had been doing it with money, Helo would have had empty pockets by now.

"Full colors, Lieutenant. I'm sorry. Helo."

Karl Agathon smiled. Since both of their best bud had been out of commission, they had become somewhat the odd couple; or at least what some would call the most unlikely of friends. Lee Adama hated the Cylons, and Helo…well, he was practically married to one. It had taken his superior officer more than a few months to stop addressing him as Lieutenant when neither of them was on duty. They had gotten rather used to addressing each other with their call signs.

"That's alright Apollo. I need to make a break for the head, anyway. Who's winning?"

Apollo laughed.

"I am. Too bad Kara's not awake to see it."

Helo looked down uncomfortably at his shoes. Even after all this time, she was a touchy subject.

"Can I get you anything while I'm out?"

Lee shook his head as he shuffled the cards.

"No thanks. Anders will be back in about an hour or so. I'll just get something then."

Helo wiped his hands on his pants.

"Okay then. I'll be back in a minute."

He sighed, running his fingers through the top of his hair. For two weeks now, Lee had been coming to sit with Kara on Thursdays and Saturdays. The former was being used as practice night, and the latter was when Galactica's team went out to play Pyramid with the Colonists. If nothing else, a little competition seemed to be going a long way in taking their minds off the monotony of military life. Lee had managed to harangue Agathon into playing with him as his leg injury from Caprica didn't allow him to actually play.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed what he thought was movement. _Nah. Can't be._ He saw it again.

"Helo, stop screwing around."

But the other man was no where near the med bay. In fact, he had just run into Sam on his way to the showers. They'd come back a little earlier than usual.

Lee looked at Kara. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully…but this time, it was a little different. There was a smile forming on her lips.

"Now, I don't know better, but I think that would be called a positive synaptic response?"

He waited, and watched it happen again. Frak. He reached for the call button. Very quickly, Apollo was joined by the medtech, looking nothing if a little sleepy.

"Henderson, right? Go get Doc Cottle. On the double. I don't care if he's sleeping; you get him down here now. Do you understand?"

The tech nodded and hurried off in the direction from which he'd come. Lee reached down and held one of Kara's hands, slowly stroking it with his other.

"Kara? Come on Kara, wake up. Come on. It's time to wake up already. Kara? Starbuck? Starbuck!"

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Kara Thrace heard a voice echoing inside her mind. She was walking down a tunnel. It was the way that the man who called himself Leo had told her to go. The voice she heard became more insistent. So insistent that she responded.

"I'm coming! Keep your pants on, for gods' sake."

As she continued to walk toward the door, her feet began to feel like lead. It was becoming harder and harder for her to pick them up. But she was stubborn. _Boy, I must have been hell for my parents. Do I have parents? _Concentrating on the desire she had to know the answer to that question, she found the strength to move forward, albeit a little slower. She heard the voice again. Right before she felt the tug in her center.

"Starbuck?"

Slowly she opened her eyes. There was a man in front of her, crying. Hysterically crying, but obviously a very happy man. As her eyes began to adjust to a light she had not seen in what felt like ages, she was able to pinpoint where she'd seen this man before. _On the screen. He's the one that hit me._

As Lee reached down to hug her, he felt her cringe beneath him. Never had he gotten that reaction from her.

"Kara, are you okay?"

_He's speaking again! Okay, move. Move!_ She was willing her legs and arms to move, to push him out of the way, or at the very least to allow her to get away from him. But no matter how hard she tried to move, the muscle response just wasn't there. So she did the only thing she was sure of, and opened her mouth wide and screamed.

"Kara. Kara, calm down! Lords, what is wrong with you, Kara! It's me! It's me, Lee Adama! Kara, don't you recognize me!"

Helo heard the screams as he was coming down the hall. Obviously female. That means…. He started running, fast. He nearly knocked over Ensign Henderson as he rounded the corner.

"What the…Lee! Kara! Lee, move out of the way!"

He grabbed Kara by the shoulders and shook her once to get her attention. It did the trick; the screaming stopped. He then spoke to her in his calm, soothing voice.

"Kara, look at me. Do you know me?"

_Great no recognition whatsoever._

"Kara, my name is Karl. Karl Agathon. I am your friend. That guy over my shoulder is Lee. Lee Adama. He's your friend, too."

She shook her head furiously at the thought of Lee Adama being her friend. She mouthed the word no, and then looked away. Apollo just couldn't stand it.

"What do you mean no? Kara, don't you remember anything?"

"I remember you hit me. More than once. You hit me."

She looked away again.

"Hey everybody. What's all the commotion?"

As soon as he said it, he stopped in his tracks. Thrace was awake, and she was staring straight at him.

"Sam? Sam! Sam!"

She was crying and screaming his name. Lee looked away as Anders bent down to hold her, to stroke her hair; he was just trying to calm her down. He wanted to let her know everything was all right. Lee understood that. But he also hated that Kara couldn't remember anything past him hitting her.

Helo put a hand on Apollo's shoulder.

"Doc's on his way. You know what? Maybe it's a better idea if you go ahead and I'll wait. I'm sorry, but she just doesn't seem comfortable around you right now. I wonder why?"

Lee bowed his head, thinking of the argument they'd had the day she went over to Cloud Nine. _Maybe from the bombing, the only thing she can remember well is the last person she was with, which was Anders? _Whatever the reason, he didn't want to sit there and watch this little reunion any more than he had to.

"Sure Helo. I'll…I'll go let my dad know she's awake. He'll want to talk to her, too. If there's anything else, come find me."

Agathon nodded in return.

"Sure thing Apollo."

And he turned and walked out of the med bay, an ache starting to form in his broken heart.

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	30. Adjusting

He was happy she was awake. Happier than he'd been in months. But seeing her like this was like cutting a piece of Lee's heart out every time they crossed paths. It had been two weeks, and she'd already moved in with** him** onboard. Today, in the hangar deck, had been no different. She was Kara Thrace. But she had not come back the same. She was not his Starbuck.

Apollo was watching her make her rounds. She nodded in his direction, apparently feeling him there. But she never smiled, never spoke to him unless absolutely necessary. It was Anders that she smiled for. To Anders she always spoke. The best friend he loved had temporarily disappeared. And it hurt, so bad.

"Good morning, Captain."

Lee looked up at his father. He had not noticed the Old Man come on deck. He hadn't heard the Sergeant on duty say 'Officer on Deck'. He had been locked in his own little world; daydreaming.

"Good morning, Sir."

Adama was concerned. Lee had been getting thinner and thinner before Kara awoke. Now his son walked around in a daze, even when she was in close proximity. He looked in Kara's direction and nodded.

"How's she coming? Remembered any new details lately?"

He shook his head. She only remembered the bad things. _Like me hitting her. Me yelling at her when it wasn't her fault. _

"No sir. She's been learning mechanics from the Chief. Figures, since she can't really fit into a flight suit right now, anyway."

The Commander smiled. He had been paying visits to Kara and Mr. Anders in the evenings, after supper. He noticed that she had become big as a house.

"Well, it's just as well. One day she will remember, but she may not want to fly again for a while."

Kara Thrace watched the exchange between father and son out of the corner of her eye. She was only absentmindedly listening to Specialist Cally's explanation of the finer points to re-wiring an engine. Funny that she would bother listening to her at all.

A few days ago, she had been in the same place, but listening to the Chief. She finally stopped him and asked him what she had been like.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Chief Tyrol, you don't have to call me sir. You can call me Kara."

"Yes sir, sorry. Kara. Still feels a little odd calling you that."

She looked down at the grease beneath her fingernails and wondered if they had always been like that.

"What kind of a person was I, Chief?"

He looked at her blankly. Should he, or shouldn't he, answer the question. He was sure that she was going to ask a thousand people the same question until she actually remembered something for herself. He might as well give her the truth, from his standpoint, of course.

"Well s-Kara. You could be a real bitch when you wanted to. Excuse me for that sir, but you were. All you wanted to do was get in that cockpit and get out in the fight. It's what you're good at."

She thought about this. Tyrol hadn't been the first person to tell her she was a hotshot pilot.

"Yeah. Everyone keeps saying that. Were you my, are you, my friend? Do I have any friends?"

Tyrol smiled. It made him think a little of Boomer, who was still not getting out of that cell anytime soon. He would have to get around to talking to the Old Man about it again.

"Well, we're friends. We don't really hang out that much since the Cylon attacks, but…we used to play cards together. And Helo is your friend. He has been for a long while."

"Who else, Chief?"

"Sharon. Both of them, here on Galactica, are your friends. And then there's Captain Adama. Why, I guess he's one of your best friends, just like Helo."

She shook her head.

"I don't think so, Chief. Helo never would have hit me like the Captain did."

Putting his hand to his chin, Tyrol remembered back to the situation she was speaking of. It brought a tiny smile to the corner of his face when he remembered them going at it.

"Actually, Kara. You hit him first."

"Sir? Sir? Lieutenant Thrace, did you hear me?"

Cally's voice brought her back to the present.

"Excuse me, you were saying?"

The young deckhand sighed in frustration.

"Frak this, sir. But how much did you miss of what I was saying?"

A sheepish smile crossed her face, fleeing as quickly as it had come.

"Just about all of it?"

"Well, that's just great. Now what are we supposed to do?"

Kara looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost 18:00 hours anyway. They might as well wrap it up.

"We'll do this again tomorrow, Cally. I've got to be going anyhow."

She got up from the stool she had been sitting on and looked in the direction where the two Adamas had been talking earlier…but there was no one there.


	31. Pain

She held onto the small of her back, wondering how much longer this could or would go on. Kara felt like she was carrying a small child attached to her…not just a baby in her stomach. And she looked so huge! They'd had to take some of Captain Kelly's sweats and pull up the length to fit her belly correctly.

"Sam. Sam! Have you seen that brace that the Chief gave me? My back is killing me!"

Anders laughed as he came up behind his very pregnant girlfriend, pulling her close so that she could lean onto him for support.

"No. I haven't seen it. Don't they say that the memory fails towards the end of your pregnancy? I really think that's happening a lot lately."

She smacked him playfully on the arm. It was kind of ironic, Kara Thrace doing the domestic. _They always say you become the thing you hate. Now where did that thought come from?_ It had been happening a lot this past week. Lots of random thoughts popping in, here and there. The doctor had said that she might experience this. _At least that means this is only temporary amnesia._

"Fine. First I'm an amnesiac, now I'm losing what mind I have left! Very funny. Think you could help me here?"

As he bent over to grab his orange crew suit, he groaned. _Too much Pyramid practice_.

"No, I really can't. If I don't get moving soon, I'm going to be late. I know I don't do much, Kara, but the Chief isn't exactly mister happy-pants when I'm not on time. See you around chow time."

He kissed her goodbye, leaving her to wonder by herself where her mind was going.

"Frak, I give up!"

She struggled to slip her shoes on the right feet and pulled a uniform jacket over her head. _Might as well go to work. I'm not doing anything down here_.

Kara was halfway down to the hangar deck, when she heard the announcement.

"Action Stations! Action Stations! Set condition one throughout the ship! Action Stations! Action Stations!"

People were rushing by her to get to their posts, while Kara barely moved, waddling as fast as she could muster.

"Fraking pregnancy. This is why pilots should not get pregnant! What the frak were you thinking?"

She didn't realize she had said it aloud. A few people's eyebrows were raised as they hurried along.

The hangar deck wasn't any easier. All of Tyrol's crew, Anders included, were running past, pushing the Vipers towards the tubes. She felt like such a fifth wheel, standing there. But she couldn't just sit on her hands back in their quarters. It just didn't 'feel' right. _Must be the other me_.

After about ten minutes, the Vipers and their pilots were beginning to land. She felt a particular sense of urgency in this. The Chief also finally noticed that she was there.

"Lieutenant Thrace, get the frak over here and out of the way. Better yet, get into my office…the Old Man will kill me if something happens to you."

She rolled her eyes and started waddling in that direction. What went wrong was anybody's guess. Right as she got to the edge of the door, something exploded. The force of the blast forced her up against a bulkhead, covered with debris. Kara couldn't tell if she was hurt or not, just that it was starting to get very hot wherever she was. She began to scream anyway.

"Help! Somebody help me! Help! I'm trapped underneath all this! Help!"

Tyrol ran over to where he heard her voice, coming from underneath a pile of twisted metal.

"Lieutenant Thrace! Kara? Can you hear me? You don't have to respond; save your breath. But if you can hear me, try to relax. There's a team here putting out the fire right now. I'll get them over to you in a second."

She started breathing deeply, trying to relax. But with each successive breath was coming more smoke. She felt the heat, but didn't know whether it was coming from in front of her or from behind.

Lee Adama saw the Chief yelling for help. He was standing next to a pile of fallen bulkheads.

"Hey, Chief, anything I can do to help?"

"Frak, Captain! I need the fire suppression team over here, now! Lieutenant Thrace is trapped underneath there, and I'm starting to smell smoke."

His heart dropped. Flying in a Viper was easy with her, compared to this. He trusted everything when she was flying beside him. He knew that she would always get out of whatever came her way. She'd proven it on Caprica, on Kobol, and even when she got stranded on that stupid moon. But not like this. Thirty-eight weeks pregnant, and without the usual resourcefulness that his Starbuck possessed.

"Frak me. Where's Anders?"

His gaze followed to where the Chief was pointing. They were trying to put out a small fire that had started in one of the Viper's engines. With long strides, Lee quickly covered the distance between himself and the other man. He grabbed Anders by the arm.

"Come with me."

Anders tugged his arm, looking at Apollo like he'd lost his mind.

"I'm trying to work here!"

Lee didn't have time for this.

"Sam. I won't ask you to do many favors for me in this lifetime, but you and your team need to come with me, now!"

Something in the man's voice made him blink. Anders felt a gnawing in the pit of his stomach.

"Okay. Red team, come with me."

They followed Adama over to where the Chief was talking to an ever-more alarmed Kara, trying to calm her down. On the other side of the metal, Kara was doing the best she could. But her back was beginning to scald from the heat. There was definitely a fire behind the bulkhead she was resting on, and she didn't want to get up close and personal with it.

"Who's under there?"

The Chief looked calmly at Anders, and then to Adama. He wondered why they hadn't already discussed it. Putting a hand on one hip, he sighed through gritted teeth.

"Lieutenant Thrace is underneath that pile of crap, and we need to get her out of it."

Lee saw the look of fear in Anders' eyes, if only for a moment. Then the man took charge. It was what had made him so good as the captain of the Caprica Buccaneers.

"Okay, people. Let's get this stuff off of her. We've got a job to do."

They all put their backs into it, pilots and crew alike. Anyone who heard that Thrace was stuck underneath moved forward to help get all of the pieces off of her. They were moving fast, but got faster when she started to scream.

As the last piece came off of her, Anders and Lee both let out a sigh and a smile. Lee's turned into a frown when he saw that her back was bright red. Then an explosion occurred at the spot where Kara had just been resting. It sent new pieces of metal and concrete into the hangar bay. Flames began to lick at the wall.

"Come on team. This is what we've trained for."

Kara reached out and grabbed Sam's arm.

"Sam, no! Don't go in there."

He looked down, deeply into her eyes.

"Kara, I love you. I know what I'm doing. Now, get out of here."

"But-but…"

Anders turned to Lee. He knew the other man loved Kara, and he knew that he'd take care of her.

"Hey, get her out of here, would you?"

Lee grabbed her arm, physically dragging her away from the mounting heat.

"Come on Kara. We've got to get out of here. It isn't safe for you or the baby."

That got her attention. She stopped pulling against him, and began slowly walking beside him instead. They were almost to the end of the hangar bay when a gigantic explosion occurred. Her heart left her then.

"Sam!"


	32. Goodbye and Hello

"Eighty-percent, huh? This isn't a joke?"

Cottle puffed on his cigarette. Quitting hadn't lasted long. He was chewing gum with they brought in this poor group of suckers. He rubbed his forehead lightly and spoke in a hushed voice tinged with sadness.

"No Bill, this is not a joke. Most of the fire team members got burns; pretty bad ones. This guy figured he had to go over the top. Eighty-percent of his body has third degree burns. I don't think I have to tell you the outcome, Bill. This is a Battlestar; she doesn't carry the kind of equipment I need to make him better."

Commander Adama sighed. It had been a long time since he'd had to deliver bad news about someone who had yet to die. This one would hit especially hard. He reached up and put his spectacles back on.

"Make him comfortable. I'll go tell the others."

The doctor nodded and went to find a little more morphine for his patient's drip. The man's skin was barely evident. Most of it had blistered and fallen off, leaving weeping wounds everywhere. Half of his scalp had been burned off, but he had managed to cover most of his face. It was the only way they were able to recognize him.

Kara saw the look on the Commander's face when he walkedout ofthe curtain. Lee supported her as she sunk into a chair. Time seemed to stop for a few minutes. She could see that his mouth was moving, but she could hear none of the words.

"Lieutenant Thrace? Can you hear me?"

She looked up, shaking her head to clear the buzzing noise that was drowning out everything else. Her heart was racing. Kara reached out blindly and grabbed the first thing she could hold onto. It was Apollo's hand. Bill Adama's face became grave.

"He's not gonna make it, Kara. The burns are too severe. Cottle said he has at the most 2 to 4 hours. You need to say your goodbyes."

Kara began to shake as her blood pressure dropped. She felt physically sick for the first time in months. _He's dying. He's dying and this time he's not coming back._

Lee put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. He could only imagine the thoughts that were running through her head; the pain she was in. And the pain that there would be.

"Dad, are you sure? There's nothing we can do for him?"

His father shook his head.

"No, son. Doc Cottle is going to make him comfortable. You'll be able to go and say your goodbyes to him. He's not sure how long Anders will last."

She swallowed hard. It wouldn't be easy, but she would do it. _Go in and be strong. What a joke. _She pulled her hand away from Lee's and began to rise out of the chair.

"Okay. Let's do it. I don't know how long I can go before I pass out."

Stopping her with his arm, Apollo looked long and hard into her eyes. He'd forgotten how beautiful they were.

"Kara…. If you need anything, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

She nodded, pulling away. She knew that Lee Adama was in love with her. Helo had told her that. But she didn't remember yet if she'd ever had those feelings for him or not. She knew that he would always be there for her…he didn't have to say it.

The smell of burnt flesh hit her nostrils as she entered the room. _Fraking hospitals_.

His eyes were closed, but the look of pain on his face was surreal. She knew that he was waiting for her. His voice came out raspy as he spoke.

"Come here, Kara."

It took all he had to reach up his right arm for her to take. Almost his entire body was covered in gauze. He looked like one big, seeping bandage. Sam knew it was killing her to see him like this, even as he heard her fighting the urge to vomit.

Kara was trying to keep it from coming. She could taste the bile seeping into the back of her throat. As if he could feel it too, the baby began kicking like mad.

"Sam…I…."

She let the words she was going to say trail off in the medicinal-tinged air. Kara had no idea what she was supposed to say. _Every dead person I knew, I never actually had to witness them die. Damned memories! _She was getting tired of her other self butting in. _Why can't they all just come back at once_?

"Kara…I want…you…to know…how much…."

She put a finger to his swollen lips.

"I know, Sam. I know. Maybe I should have left you back there on Caprica? Hmm? Then you wouldn't have had to suffer like this."

The thought of the man she had left, serious and strong, caused the river of tears to begin their flow. Once they had started, she knew that she could not make them stop. Kara wanted to hold him, to touch him. But she knew to do so would cause him more pain.

_Why? Lords of Kobol, tell me why! _Maybe there were no Lords of Kobol. Maybe there were no gods. Maybe it had all just been a lie.

"Kara…. I want you, to make sure…that you take care of yourself…and the baby. Know…. Know that…I'll…be watching you…from the stars."

She nodded. She knew that Anders had never been a very religious man, and for him to say this was a miracle in itself. _Trust me to fall for an agnostic_. He tried to move, pain causing his features to bunch together.

"Kara…I need…. I need to speak…to Apollo."

This brought her head upright. It was a surprise to her that he would ask for the other man.

"Alone…Kara. Alone…."

Slowly, she rose up off of the bed. Kara looked out the curtain to Lee, who had been patiently staring at the floor beneath him.

"Lee, Sam wants to talk to you. Alone. Now, please?"

His face was solemn as he nodded. He felt oddly uncomfortable as he entered the makeshift room, his palms dripping with sweat. The young Captain Adama raised his head as the former Pyramid player began to speak.

"Apollo…. Lee. I need you to…to…promise me something."

Anders' breathing became more shallow. He could feel his lungs giving out as he spoke. _Not much longer, now_. He grabbed Lee's hand and pulled him closer, so that he could finish the words he needed to say.

"Lee…take care…of Kara…. I know…I…know…that you love…her. Promise…me?"

Who was Lee to refuse the promise of a dying man? It was something that Anders needn't even ask. He had tried to take care of her the moment he met her. And so many times he had failed, not because he hadn't tried, but because she would not let him.

"I will do my best."

It was the only answer he could give. Doc Cottle entered the room, just as the words left Captain Adama's mouth. The older gentleman gave him a stern look as he checked the patient's vitals. The doctor shook his head.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing more that I can do."

Before he had been able to speak another word, Samuel T Anders died before his very eyes. Not in a blaze of glory, but quietly, and in pain and suffering. Lee felt his emotions shut down. As much as he envied the man in life, he did not know how to properly deal with the man's death.

As he walked outside, Kara looked up at him, searching his face. She nodded her understanding that Sam was gone. There was no reason to stay. Every part of her body, down to the very center of her heart, had gone numb. She did not even feel the wetness coming from between her legs. But Lee had seen it.

"Um, Kara? I think we'd better stay here."

She followed his gaze to the floor, where a small puddle was beginning to form. This was not the time. She didn't want it to be the time.

"Frak."


	33. Who's your Daddy?

"Frak. Ow…ow…ow!"

Flash. Playing with Lee on Cloud Nine.

"Ow. I think I need to get up on that table, now!"

Flash. Punching Lee in the face; him punching back.

"Fracking doctors. Hurry him up, would you? Ow!"

Flash. Making love with Lee.

"They're coming faster! Do something!"

Flash. Flash. Flash. With every contraction, she was having more memories pop up in her head. Memories of the raider. Memories of being stuck on Caprica. Memories of Kobol. The intensity of labor was causing Kara's memory to come back, rather quickly.

Lee looked down at his right hand. It had gone numb about ten minutes ago, when Doc Cottle had told him to move her to the room where Sharon had birthed her daughter. It was the most suitable location, seeing as they had a birthing table and supplies set up in advance. He struggled to remove his fingers from Kara's grip.

"Calm down, Kara. I'm sure he's getting over here as fast as he can."

She gritted her teeth as the next contraction came on.

"Calm down! What the frak do you mean, calm down! Men, you're so…ow…ow…ow…so frakking stupid sometimes!"

Between the contractions and the memory flashes, the pain in her head and her body were becoming unbearable. She had this sudden animosity towards Lee. But it was different from before. Kara was becoming more of herself again.

"Frak you, flyboy. I should have just kicked your ass instead of leaving you there with your mouth open. Teach me to ever frak you again!"

He looked straight at her with that one.

"Starbuck?"

Through gritted teeth and in between groans, she responded, sweat dripping off her skin and her face beginning to pale.

"Lee, we can have this discussion later. You need to get Cottle now or I'm going to push this baby out myself!"

"I'll be right back."

Adama ran; sprinting down the corridor and almost running into the old man. He had changed into green surgical scrubs and apparently gotten rid of the white lab coat.

"How's our patient?"

Apollo shook his head.

"She's not very happy at the moment. And I think she's got her memory back…called me flyboy and everything."

Cottle scratched his chin. He had thought it would take something stressful to trigger her memory recovery. The death of a loved one combined with labor proved to do the trick.

"Well, let's get to it…I haven't got all day."

They hurried back to the room, which had been part of Sharon's old cell. It was attached to the new living quarters they had built onto the brig for Boomer. They found Kara, nearly passed out from the pain.

"Okay gentlemen; let's get her up on the table. She can't be having that baby down there. It's probably against regulations or something."

Lee and Ensign Huntington lifted Kara up onto the table, groaning at the added weight. Doc Cottle looked to check the baby's progress. He didn't have to look far to see the head already poking out.

"Good thing I got here now. I don't think he wants to be in there anymore. You can push anytime you want."

Kara took Lee's hand in her own, squeezing it so hard it was already turning white again.

"Lee?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Do me a favor. Remind me never to do this again!"

**_Ztztztztztztztztztztztz_**

A few hours later, Lee Adama was looking down at mother and child. Both were asleep from exhaustion. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would get to witness this: Starbuck actually becoming a mother. The thought would have been comical, if she were not lying there in front of him.

He paced back and forth, waiting. _Dr. Baltar was supposed to be back with the results by_ _now._ Doc Cottle had taken a sample of both mother's and baby's blood, along with a sample from Lee, to determine if the baby were biologically his, or if Anders had been the father. The wait was killing him.

Footsteps were approaching. Lee turned to see the man he was awaiting, coming in the room with a puzzled look on his face.

"Everything all right, Dr. Baltar?"

The man was engrossed in the paperwork in his hand, and looked up as if by an afterthought.

"What? Oh…yes, yes. Everything is fine. Congratulations, Captain Adama. You are indeed the biological father of the yet unnamed son of Lieutenant Thrace."

Lee's heart was soaring. He had been hoping beyond hope. And now he felt overwhelming joy.

"I am? Seriously, Doctor? I am?"

Baltar laughed. He showed Lee the DNA test in his hand, covering up the additional information at the bottom of the form. It was this that was troubling him; that caused the puzzled look on his face. The baby's blood wasn't testing right, beyond the actual parentage test itself. He'd actually come back to take another sample.

"Seriously, Captain Adama. I'm surprised you aren't rushing already to tell the Commander. I'd think he would be overjoyed to know that he's a grandfather."

With a spring in his step, Apollo started for the door.

"You're right. I'll go tell him now. If she wakes up, tell her where I've gone, please."

Nodding, Dr. Baltar stepped closer to the bed. He was glad to be rid of the man. _Competition, indeed_. He realized then that he would have to wake Kara up, since he would be disturbing the baby to take more blood.

"Lieutenant Thrace? Lieutenant Thrace, would you mind if I look at your son?"

Kara stirred. _Dr. Baltar. Great. Just the person I would least likely want to see_. As she shifted her weight, sore from having given birth, the baby began crying. She opened the side of her dressing gown, to allow the baby to nurse.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

_That wasn't what I meant_. He could be so dense, sometimes. Kara had always felt uncomfortable around him. There was something not quite right about the man. Still, he was supposed to be a genius. Maybe that was how a genius acted.

"So, Doctor, what brings you to my lovely little abode? Come to gloat? Come to stick me with more needles? What?"

Baltar hesitated in his response. He was too busy staring at the baby. And listening to Six, whisper sweetly and softly into his ear.

"I told you that our baby would be born in this room. You doubted the word of God?"

He shook his head as a feeling of both dread and excitement washed over him.

"Doctor? Baltar, are you all right?"

He nodded.

"Yes…yes. I…just came to tell you that Captain Adama is the father of your b-baby. Congratulations! G-good d-day."

Stuttering on the last few words, he slowly backed out of the room, continuing to stare at the baby's neatly glowing red spine.

**_Ztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt_**

_**Whaddya think? Good news, with a twist! See that little button at the bottom of the screen? Don't forget to say hello. Hee-hee!**_


	34. An unexpected peace

It seemed that perhaps Kara "Starbuck" Thrace had finally been humbled. After all the things that her miserable life had put her through, through all the things that she had done to others…Kara felt that she finally understood.

She smiled as they all gathered before her and her new son. There was Lee, smiling like a proud papa, stogie hanging out of the corner of his mouth. _Such a magnificent bastard._ He was exchanging diaper jokes with Helo, who was embracing Sharon; quiet but content. The way that they stood there together, Sharon leaning into Helo, his arm protectively in front of her, her hand lightly resting on his; it brought warm feelings to her heart. And there was Tyrol, grinning with a little scamp of a girl named Tamara on his shoulders, pulling at Galen's curls. He secretly was wishing he had gone and gotten that haircut after all.

"So, have you figured out a name yet for my grandson?"

All of them turned to look at Bill Adama as he commandingly walked into the room. He was wearing the biggest smile of them all. Commander Adama put one hand on his son's shoulder and took Lee's outstretched one into his, shaking it firmly. He was proud, and radiated it. And for once in her life, Kara Thrace could truly say she was at peace. She was home.

"I'm not sure…Lee?"

The younger Adama turned to look at her, wondering why she had suddenly left the decision making up to him. For if one thing was for sure, Starbuck never left the decisions up to anybody but herself.

"Well…um…Kara? Help here?"

She laughed. She could still make him speechless, without even trying.

"Commander, may I present to you Christopher Zachary Adama."

Gingerly, he reached out to hold his grandson. The little tyke was staring up at him, as if examining his every move, every blink of his eye, every breath that came out of his lungs. Bill smiled, as he had often wondered if he would live to see this day.

"Hello there. I'm your grandpa."

A burst of laughter came from the entire group. None of them had ever expected to witness Commander Adama to be talking in a high pitched voice to anyone. Not even to a grandchild. He looked at them sternly in turn.

"If any of you mentions this to the rest of the crew, you'll be on laundry detail for a month!"

Kara rolled her eyes, and caught the look that Lee had thrown her. She began to feel warm again, from the inside out. She reached up to take her son back, straightening the collar on the outfit that Sharon had provided for the boy. Helo caught the movement out of the corner of his eye.

"We found an elderly lady who just happened to sew children's clothes in a factory back on Aerilon. Apparently she's been doing all of them for the new babies in the fleet. Taking old men's and women's clothes and sizing them down, or something like that."

Christopher yawned, and looked appreciatively at his new mother. She knew that he was onlytwo days old, but he looked like he knew the secrets to everything in the Universe. _He's just a baby._

When she thought it, he looked at her like he knew what she had been thinking. _You're imagining things. _Kara herself let escape a yawn. Tyrol noticed, and he thought that his goddaughter wasn't going to last much longer, either.

"Okay everybody. This little girl needs to go to bed, and I think that our new mommy is a little tired, too. Have a good night."

One by one they followed suit, until it was just Kara, Lee, Christopher and Bill. The elder Adama sighed, and took one last chance to touch his grandson.

"Goodnight. You all get some rest. I think you deserve it."

Kara nodded, and Lee moved to stand beside her. He picked up his son, wondering at the life that something so small contained.

"Thanks dad."

She took the opportunity to turn on her side for the first time in days. There was just enough room in the bed for father and son to sit beside her. Lee turned to speak to her, but found she had already fallen asleep. He kissed her lightly on the forehead, as always.

"Sweet dreams, Starbuck."

**Ztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt**

At the same time, in another part of the ship, a genius doctor was having a conversation seemingly by himself….


	35. Making plans

_**Just a little in-between time. It wouldn't be right to jump to the next part without including the rest of the ship…it's not just Lee and Kara that live there, you know. Have fun…and we will get to where we're all going….**_

_**ztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt**_

It had been a chilly night. He pulled the covers a little higher to cover the both of them and felt her snuggle even tighter. It had been a month since he'd first come to spend the night, and was thinking of asking the Commander if he could make it a permanent gesture. He loved her enough to give up his own bunk and move into the brig quarters with her, if that was what it took.

Tyrol felt her shudder in her sleep, accompanied by a soft moan. _Another nightmare._ Boomer never remembered her nightmares before, and he doubted she would this time. Her eyelids fluttered half-open.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Mmm-hmm."

She sighed as she stretched against him. It was still dark, which meant Galen didn't have to go yet. The guards usually woke him up at 05:30 to get going for his 06:00 shift.

He reveled in her smile. This was when he was most content. Every day he looked forward to coming in after chow. And for the days that he could not come, he would send word with Sharon, Helo or Starbuck.

"Did you have another bad dream, Sharon?"

Boomer sat a little more upright. She nodded, remembering only bits and pieces of it.

"Yeah. It's a little hazy, though. Cylons, babies. Mostly just a horrible, cold feeling. I don't know what to make of it. Maybe I'm just going crazy."

She said this playfully, reaching down to tickle Tyrol's side. He was the most entertaining part of her day. _He makes my life down here bearable._

The lights came on, flooding their little private world. The Chief groaned and stretched, knowing that he had to go out and make the knuckle-draggers do their job. The past three days he'd not been able to come, having spent 18-hour shifts during repetitive Cylon attacks. They were looking for something. Once the fleet had jumped right into the middle of them, and quickly jumped back out.

"Sorry Sharon. Looks like I have to go. I'll come back after chow, yes?"

The pout to her lips gave him every indication of how she felt. Boomer nodded, wondering how she would make it through another one.

"Hey, I'll go talk to Adama today if I can. Try to have fun with the tyke."

He hugged her tightly and a little tear fell down her cheek as she watched him go. She hoped that the distraction Sharon, Tamara and Christopher provided each day would keep her busy enough that she would forget. She was tired of the gaping hole that it left in her soul.

_If I even have a soul_.

_**Ztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt**_

"He's a month old! How do you expect to hide a month-old baby! I must be out of my mind to even think of doing such a thing!"

Slowly he felt her hand glide across his shoulders, sending shivers down the middle of his spine. She came around to face him, flashing the brilliant smile that had always been her trademark.

"I wouldn't have asked it if God was not willing to provide. We can keep a secret, just like you humans. We have our ways."

He shook his head. There was no way he could think of that they were going to get away with it.

"Oh, and you just expect me to be able to remove a baby from the room, with no one suspecting me when I don't bring him back? How have you worked that one out, if you don't mind telling me?"

Six placed a finger to Gaius' mouth.

"Shhh. Everything will be taken care of. You'll see."

_**Ztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt**_

Even the spit-up on the lapel of his dress uniform couldn't make Lee angry. He held the baby a little above him, waiting for Kara to come back with a wet cloth.

"Hurry up here, before it dries!"

She came into the room, laughing at the scene. _Proud papa holding drooling baby, Colonial Press, page 8. _When Christopher was born, he was the talk of the fleet. Playa Palacios had asked for an exclusive interview with the Captain of the Air Group/Presidential Advisor himself. The fact that Starbuck was his mother was completely ignored. And so they had refused, as a family. _Ha! Funny family we are. _

A month had gone by, and they hadn't resolved anything between them. Still, they weren't fighting as much as they usually did.

"Keep your pants on, Lee. It's breast milk. It doesn't stain."

The look of disgust on his face was classic. She wished she'd had a camera so that she could get a snapshot of this moment. But she was sure there would be many more to come.

"Hand him over, Lee. I've got to get him changed and dressed before Helo comes to pick him up to take him over to Sharon's."

Apollo snuggled his son one last time, kissing him on the forehead for good measure.

"Daddy will come see you this afternoon. Be a good boy."

Kara snickered and rolled her eyes. How he could be a bad boy, she didn't know.

"Lee. He's a month old. Give him some time before you give him any more bright ideas."

He looked at her and replied sarcastically.

"That's your department, remember? I'll see you on CAP."

She watched him stride out of the room, holding his shoulders high. Being a father had brought a brightness to his life, taking away some of the pain of his mother's and brother's deaths. Kara looked at little Christopher, wondering how their little miracle would turn out.

"Daddy's a widdle cwrazy, isn't he? But he's a Daddy. And I'm your Mommy. And I love you vewry, vewry much."

The laughter coming from Helo as he entered brought her out of Mommy mode, and made her realize she needed to hurry up or she would be late. _The last thing I need today is to have an argument with Lee._

"Hand me the baby, Kara. Or we're never gonna get out of here."

Helo shook his head as he watched her walk ever so slowly to the door on her way to the head, winking as she turned. He looked down at his godson, who was staring up at him curiously.

"Your mommy will never learn."

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	36. Failure

Sharon watched as Dr. Baltar with Ensign Henderson in tow, took the children off to get their vaccinations. She didn't like letting them go without one of their parents, but everyone had agreed to it…everyone except for her. With Helo and Starbuck on CAP rotation and Lee in CIC, there was no one left to go. It pulled at her heartstrings as Tamara began to cry.

"Shhh…honey. Mommy will be right here waiting for you when you get back. Dr. Baltar and the nice Ensign are going to take you on a Raptor flight over to the Rising Star. You like flying, don't you honey?"

The little girl brightened a bit at the news that she was going to get to fly a little. _Just like Daddy does._

"Okay Mommy."

With a last little wave, she caught the last glimpse of them as the hatch closed. Sharon looked over at Boomer, who was smiling in sympathy.

"They'll be back soon, Sharon. Don't worry."

Sharon sat down on the bunk with her sister, beginning to count down the two hours it would take for them to return.

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It was looking to be a routine day for CAP. Starbuck stifled a yawn as she made her next pass. She'd hoped that no one had heard her. _No such luck._

"Hey Starbuck, will you be needing some stims on your next flight out?"

Helo thought he was so funny.

"Helo, you know where you can stick it. You try getting up in the middle of the night with a one-month old. And don't even start on me about your kid. Sharon took care of most of that, if you didn't remember…."

"Ha ha Starbuck. I guess Apollo needs to take some shifts from you or you'll be all strung out."

Apollo was in CIC, listening to the exchange with a grimace. He would never live this down.

"Hey, you two. Cut the chatter, will you? This is CAP, not auditions for a comedy club."

Kara laughed. He would never live it down from his fellow officers, and she knew it. Just two more passes to go and they would be relieved. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by Helo once more.

"Galactica, we have inbound Cylon contacts…counting…seven. Can you confirm?"

Dee's voice came over the comm.

"Roger that Raptor 249. Wait for Dradis confirmation."

Gaeta was hurrying to his screen. Lee watched anxiously. It had been several days since their last contact, and he didn't want Kara to have to encounter any now.

"Galactica, Starbuck. I have visual on the seven. They're Cylon raiders. Launch the alert fighters."

Apollo nodded as Tigh came into the CIC. He picked up the communications link to alert the fleet. Starbuck was ready for a good fight.

"Kat, Jailbait, you're on me. The raiders will be here before the alert fighters can get to us. Let's go. Racetrack? You and Helo hold back and let us know if there are more coming."

"Roger that, Starbuck."

Commander Adama came into the CIC. He could immediately feel the tension his son was radiating.

"Apollo, sitrep."

"Yes, sir. Seven inbound Cylon raiders. Currently Starbuck, Kat and Jailbait are on an intercept course. Alert fighters will be launched in…two minutes."

The Commander tensed. He understood what Lee was feeling. The mother of his grandson was out there defending the fleet, and he now wondered if it was the right decision to allow her to return to flight status so soon.

Helo was watching impatiently from above. He knew that Captain Apollo would be worried, so he did his best to keep an eye on Kara Thrace.

"Starbuck…Helo. Five more inbound raiders heading your way. That makes a total of twelve."

In her Viper, Starbuck wasn't fazed in the least at the increasing enemy numbers.

"Woo-hoo! Make that total eight. I just nailed two, and Kat and Jailbait each have one. We still need help, though. Where the frak are the alert fighters?"

Dee's voice came over again.

"Lieutenant? Chief says that two are fouled in the tubes, but three have just gotten away. They're on an intercept course with your location."

"Roger that Galactica."

She didn't have time to talk. The other raiders had just joined them, and the space around her was getting thick. Starbuck was beginning to feel closed in, and needed to get out of this mess. She broke right, taking herself out of the immediate fight. But she didn't see the raider that pulled up from behind.

"Starbuck, look out!"

"Frak me."

Breaking back left, she went into the middle of the haze of Vipers and Cylon raiders. Starbuck was doing everything she could to shake the raider, but nothing was working.

The last thing she heard before darkness fell was the sound of someone screaming from afar.

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	37. Missing

_**Sorry for the wait. Runts have been sick and all that…. Takes away from my typing time. Onward we go! Disclaimers the same as usual….**_

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Lee did his best not to begin sprinting toward the hangar deck. All the ships had jumped away. Starbuck had been pulled aboard unconscious, and he hadn't stuck around in CIC long enough to hear Helo give the initial report on her condition. By the time he reached the deck, the medics were already loading her onto a stretcher.

"Lieutenant Agathon. What's the sitrep?"

Helo looked quickly at the CAG's face, the looked away. Apollo's features were drawn taught with worry.

"She managed to get one wing blown off, then the other. It was a miracle she didn't spin off head-on into another raider, or worse, a Viper. Kat saved her ass, sir."

"Thank you Lieutenant."

Once again, Lee found himself on his way down to sickbay; to find Kara Thrace. _Should have asked her to marry me…then I'd be looking for Kara Adama. _He found Doc Cottle standing over her, trying to revive her.

"Doc? What's going on?"

Cottle's mouth held the hint of a smile. He was shining a penlight into her face.

"Don't worry Captain. She'll be fine. Lieutenant Thrace has one hell of a concussion, but otherwise she's in good working order. See, she's already starting to come around."

"Get that the frak away from me!"

Kara swatted his hand away.

"And she has an attitude to boot. My job is done here, Captain."

Lee looked down at her, relief washing over him, even though she was yelling.

"How you feeling?"

Starbuck reached up and felt the knot on the back of her head. _How'd that get there?_

"Like I've got one hell of a hangover. Lee? Take me home."

He reached out to pull her up.

"My pleasure, Lieutenant Thrace. My pleasure."

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"What the frak do you mean, they're not back yet! Sharon? Sharon, look at me! Tell me what happened!"

Sharon was starting to hyperventilate. Gaius Baltar had not returned with the children. It had been three and a half hours. Even with the Cylon attack, they should have been back already.

"Helo, I don't know! Remember that I'm the one who didn't agree to this little outing in the first place! He came in here with Ensign Henderson. They left. I've been sitting here with Boomer the whole time, waiting for them to get back!"

Helo began pacing back and forth, trying to decide what to do first. _Should I go to look for them first? Or should I go and alert the Commander before that?_

"What the frak do we do?"

Boomer became the voice of reason.

"Helo, go and alert Captain Adama. He'll tell the Commander. They'll be able to find them faster."

He looked quickly from one copy to the other; took Sharon's hand firmly into his.

"Don't worry. I'll hurry up and get her back. Boomer? Thanks."

Boomer smiled. It had been a while since he'd spoken to her directly.

"No problem."

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"Commander Adama, Sir. We're receiving word from the fleet that Dr…I mean, Vice President Baltar and Ensign Henderson were attacked. They've been found unconscious by ship's security aboard the Rising Star."

The Commander did not like the sound of what Dualla was saying. He turned to Helo who had just come in to speak with him. The man looked nervous; anxious even.

"Is this what you came to speak with me about, Lieutenant Agathon?"

Helo, too, had become apprehensive at Dee's announcement. He wanted his daughter and he wanted her now.

"The children, sir. They haven't come back yet. They're with Dr. Baltar, sir."

Bill Adama felt a sense of dread chill him down to his bones. He already knew the answer to his question before he even asked it.

"Children, Lieutenant? Are you saying…?"

"My son and his daughter. Gone. Missing. Not returned. Dad…was either of them found with the Vice President?"

Adama looked at Lee; at the desperation on his face. The feeling of dread in him deepened.

"Dee?"

Dualla held up one hand for silence as she listened to the incoming transmission. For a moment, she began to smile. Then she looked like she could cry.

"They have found…one child sir. A female."

Helo felt almost guilty that he was so relieved his daughter was okay. As he looked at Apollo, he could tell Lee was ready to jump out of his own skin.

"Father?"

Adama reached out to his son. He could see the pain in his eyes.

"Take a marine detail. Go and find my grandson. Lieutenant Agathon, go collect your daughter…and the Vice President. I have some questions to ask him when he's back aboard my ship."

Apollo nodded, and then looked over at the other man.

"Helo? I'll meet you on the flight deck. I have a stop to make."

Lee ran this time, all the way back to quarters. Kara was standing in the doorway, waiting for him. She looked up as she heard his feet pounding the steel of the floor.

"Lee…find Christopher. Find our son."

The look in her eyes would be one he would never forget.

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	38. Placing the blame

Short paragraph after a long hiatus. But it sets you up for things to come. So try and enjoy. It starts picking up from here.

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It had been six years since Christopher Zachary Adama had disappeared. Every year around Colonial Day, Starbuck would withdraw from all the other people left in the fleet.

She had even stopped seeing Lee. She couldn't bear to. It caused her too much pain to think about what he might look like. Would he have more features like an Adama? Or would he be tow-headed like his mother.

They had found Vice President Baltar, bleeding from a gash at the back of his head. The marines had to restrain Kara when he was brought back on board. But the President and Commander Adama had not found any reason to blame the good Doctor for the kidnapping of her only son. Kara didn't trust him. He was still the most slippery person she knew.

A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts about that day; and the months afterward they had spent going ship to ship, looking for her boy. Chief Petty Officer Jammer was looking at her with sympathy.

"Sorry to bother you, Captain Thrace. But Doc Cottle is asking for you. Dr. Baltar isn't sure how much more time he has left."

She returned the younger man's salute, wondering why Cottle wanted to speak with her. She'd never really liked the man, but she still respected him for the countless lives he'd saved in the years since the initial Cylon attack.

"Dismissed Chief. I'll head straight down there."

She was still in her tanks, having removed her dress jacket when she got back to her quarters last night. Kara put it back on. It was the least way she could show a little respect for the dying man.

Her walk was slow and steady as she made her way to sickbay. When she entered, the former Vice President had his typical insipid smile on his lips.

"Captain Thrace. You're looking well."

"Frak off, Doctor. Today is not a good day."

Baltar had forgotten the significance of today's date. It was obvious. He had been planning on attending a ball dance in the new president's honor that evening.

"Oh…yes. Sorry about that. I'll leave you two alone, then."

Kara shook her head in disgust as the strange little man walked out of the curtain. As she looked down, she noticed Cottle had sat up a little, and was fighting to keep from coughing. His color had significantly grayed; his skin looking as if he wasn't getting enough oxygen.

"Hello, Starbuck. I hope you've been well. I haven't seen you in my sickbay for quite some time. Looks like you're finally taking responsibility for your life."

Kara sighed. She didn't understand why she was here. There was nothing for her to say to him. But he apparently had something to say to her.

"I-I'm sorry, Captain Thrace. Sorry for everything."

He managed to squeeze the words out between coughing and laughing at himself.

"Looks like all that damned smoking has finally caught up with me, hmm?"

Indeed. His voice was so gravelly from the cancer in his throat and lungs that you could barely tell it was the same Doc Cottle who was speaking to you.

"Whatever Cottle. Do you mind telling me why I was brought down here? So you could say you're sorry again? Sorry for what? Don't you have better things to do?"

The old man shook his head. He began to cry; slow tears streaming down his face.

"Yeah. I suppose I could die already, huh? But no, Thrace. I had to apologize for something."

He let out a huge sigh, and then coughed another three or four times. The last cough left his handkerchief tinged with blood.

"I had to say I'm sorry….for your son."

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	39. Betrayed

_**There's a little harsh language in this part. So if you don't like it…plug your eyes. Just kidding. Disclaimers are the same as always. Happy reading.**_

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With a hand on one hip, Kara sighed and ran her other fingers through her hair. She had heard it so many times before. It was always within two weeks of Colonial day.

Thank the gods the new recruits hadn't been around long enough to know. And her friends…Boomer, Tyrol, Sharon, Helo…and even Lee; they knew better than to mention it. Lee worked through his pain by taking double shifts in CIC to numb his emotions. She always teased him afterwards that he would one day be the youngest commander in the fleet. Kara, on the other hand, always locked herself away. Everyone had been given strict orders to not disturb her unless absolutely necessary.

So once again she was wondering why she was in sickbay. What was so important about Cottle telling her he was sorry. _Is he trying to be nice to me for once, before he dies?_

"Thanks for the sentiment, Doc, but I've heard it all before."

In between coughs, Cottle sucked up enough oxygen to actually yell at her.

"Captain Thrace, will you just shut up for once in your life and listen to me! I know you hate me, but for once I actually have something more important than medical jargon to say to you!"

Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She quickly snapped her mouth shut again. She was giving Cottle the impression of a floundering fish. Dr. Baltar popped his head in.

"Is everything all right? Now, Captain Thrace, I can't have you disturbing my patient."

How they had ever decided to let Dr. Baltar into his sick bay to learn more about medicine, he couldn't remember. The man didn't have much to do after Roslyn had him resign from the Vice-Presidency. He had learned pretty quickly, though. _Still, the man gives me the creeps._ Kara spoke before Cottle could get out any words.

"We're fine, doctor. Just having a discussion. If you would leave us alone now. Please."

She'd emphasized the last word, making it more of an order than a request. He was still a civilian doctor aboard a military vessel. She made a shooing motion with her hands. Baltar, finally realizing he was dismissed, did an about face and left the room with an audible 'Humph.'

"Strange little man. He gets stranger with every year. You were saying, Doc?"

It took the older man four or five deep breaths before he was actually ready. Kara now understood what he had to say was important if it was taking him this much effort.

"Captain Thrace. As long as I've known you, I've been pretty straightforward with you on almost everything in your life. Every thing except for one."

He shifted, reaching out one arm. Kara reached out her own and helped to lift him into a seated position.

"Kara. Thank you. I said I am sorry for your son. I'm sorry, but I'm also an old man who is dying…regretting…things that I should not have done. Things I should have talked to Bill about, if no one else."

"Wait a minute, Doc. All you're doing now is confusing me."

Another cough. Another cloth stained, this time with more blood. The old doctor smiled.

"Don't worry; not much longer to go. I really should have never started smoking in the first place. I knew better. As I was saying…."

Cottle told her about Gina coming to visit him one day. How the Cylons had somehow known about Kara's pregnancy.

"Something to do with that nice little extra scar that they gave you, kid."

Kara's hand flew to her stomach. She'd tried not to think about it over the years. It had only caused her pain…both physical and emotional.

But as Cottle continued his story between wheezes and coughs, Kara felt rage begin to take hold over her…little by little. Because one of the few parts about his tale that stuck firmly in her mind was that Cottle had made a choice. But he'd never informed anyone of it. And it just all of a sudden hit her.

"You let them take my baby. You son of a bitch! You let them take my son!"

"I had no other choice! It was your son, or the entire human race!"

He began sputtering blood with each successive cough. Kara went to the head of the bed and got within inches of his right ear. She was managing to keep her rage in check.

"That wasn't your choice to make. It wasn't your right!"

The words came out in a hiss, just as nurse and Dr. Baltar came to check the status of their patient. Kara stood up tall and backed away. As she reached the curtain, she turned around for one last shot.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'll be happy to see you die."

With all the control she could muster, she started walking toward the XO's quarters. Kara was doing everything she could not to collapse and cry right there in the middle of the corridor.

She was on her way to see Lee. They hadn't spoken much in the past year. She reflected on all that had happened as she continued through the dimly lit hallway. Admiral Adama had retired from direct command of the Galactica. He still was in command of all fleet related decisions, but he was posted over on Colonial One. He had spent more time with Laura Roslyn the past year than anywhere else. Kara suspected the Old Man was in love with her, otherwise he never would have allowed himself to be posted outside of the Galactica. Roslyn was in the middle of her second official term. She'd had Baltar resign as Vice President, and Wallace had just beaten out Zarek for the post. He'd only done that because Zarek had stupidly taken up with Ellen Tigh after her husband had died of cirrhosis of the liver.

But before the Old Man had stepped down, he'd promoted a few people. Lee was now Colonel, and the XO of the Galactica. It was a post that she knew he hadn't wanted, but he took it anyway out of respect for his father. Kara herself had been promoted to Captain and was also now the CAG. The Commander of the Galactica was some guy known as Parrish…a leftover from the Pegasus. He was a nice-enough guy, and had more command experience than Lee did. She sometimes suspected that was the only reason he was Commander and not Lee himself.

Helo was also now a Captain, and in charge of making sure that Kat, now a Lieutenant, didn't kill any of the nuggets the two of them were responsible for training. Edmunson had gone and mustered out after she'd met and fell in love with some civilian. Last Kara had heard she was both pregnant and happy. _Lucky bitch_. The lack of Racetrack's presence made it easier on Sharon and Boomer, though. Both were allowed to make short range missions in Raptors, ferrying crewmembers and such. But Sharon had been given the extra task of teaching Galactica's crew in anti-Cylon tactics; what they thought, what they believe, what they know. It seemed to give the woman a sense of purpose.

Boomer only worked part time onboard, though. Most of her time was spent chasing after the precocious little three year-old daughter that she and Tyrol had. It had taken Galen Tyrol several years to fully accept her into his life once again. But his love for her as a person had won over everything else. Her pregnancy was a surprise and an added bonus. Kara had never seen the Master Chief as happy in all the time they'd served together.

Happiness had been a fleeting thing for Kara and Lee. Now they were more or less estranged from each other. They had spent months searching the fleet for their son, to no avail. And the longer they searched, the more space had built up in between them. Now, they only spoke when it was official military business. The two of them could be in the same room with each other, and they would barely acknowledge each other's presence. Kara didn't remember when exactly it had happened. So going directly to Lee's quarters was a major step for her. She just hoped he would let her in.

Tentatively she knocked at the door. No answer. She knocked again, a little more forcefully. This time, she got a response.

"I don't know who the frak you are, but you'd better have a godsdamned good reason for disturbing me from my sleep. If the fleet isn't blowing up and there's not a Cylon attack, you'd be better off to turn around and go back the way you came, before I open this door."

_Gods he was grumpy_. Kara stood her ground as the very grouchy XO opened it for her. He was getting ready to yell when he realized it was her. Kara never came to his quarters. He was caught completely off guard.

"Colonel Adama…I need to speak to you. In private, if I may."

Before he could protest, she ducked under his arm and went into his living room. It was a small space, but a little bigger than the bunk area she was used to. In all the time he'd been the XO, she had never set foot inside this room. It was sparsely decorated, but she caught a glimpse of an old picture of the three of them together, back when they were happy. It was one taken on Cloud Nine, right before Christopher had been kidnapped. Kara herself had taken down any photos that reminded her of him. The pain in her heart began to return, and she quickly shifted her gaze to Lee's face. What she was going to tell him would only make the pain worse. For the both of them.

"Captain Thrace, I hope you have a good excuse for being in my quarters at this time of the night. I have an early shift in CIC tomorrow and I really don't like my sleep disturbed."

Though Lee could remember a time when it didn't bother him if he had been woken up like this. It had been heaven just to see her smile in her sleep…the baby cradled between them. A wry smile crossed his lips before he hardened his heart once again. Starbuck coughed before she began.

"I think that Christopher is still alive. And Doc Cottle might know where he is, if he's still alive when we get back to him."

Lee looked at her incredulously. He couldn't believe that after all this time she would dare to say such a thing. Six years missing usually meant that a person was dead, or at the very least beyond their reach.

"What the frak are you talking about, Kara?"

It had been the first time in almost a year that he called her by her first name. She flinched when she heard it.

"I'm telling you, Lee that I got called out of my bunk about an hour ago to go have a talk with Cottle. He asked someone to come and get me. And that old bastard told me he knew who took Chris…even if he didn't know why. You want to know the best of it? He let it happen!"

Lee had been pacing in a small circle. Now he froze. Old Doc Cottle, have something to do with his son's disappearance? _No, no, no. That is not possible. _His brain was warring with the words that had left Kara's lips. She had to be making this up.

"Kara, are you sure? That's Doc Cottle you're talking about. The same man who happens to be a family friend. Are you sure you heard him right?"

She threw her hands up in the air. The only way to get him to listen to her was going to be to take him down to sickbay so he could hear it for himself. But maybe that's why Cottle had called her down there in the first place. Maybe he was too afraid of the Old Man's son, and how he'd react.

"Look. You don't believe me? Fine. Get dressed and come back down with me to sickbay. You can talk to him yourself, if he's not dead already."

She pushed her way out of the door and let it slam behind her. _I'll wait five minutes, that's it! _How could Lee not believe her? After all the years he'd known her, you'd think he'd learn to tell when Kara was lying about something, and when she was actually telling the truth. Just as she was going to give up, the door slowly opened with Lee, fully dressed in his uniform.

"Let's go. I'd like to sort this out and go back to bed."

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When they arrived in sickbay, Dr. Baltar was slowly pulling a sheet over the lifeless body of old Doc Cottle. Kara screamed.

"No! He can't be dead! I was just here! I was just with him!"

Doctor Baltar shook his head.

"I'm sorry Captain Thrace, but he died right after you left. We've been working to resuscitate him, but whatever you two talked about took any fight that he had left. I must add that it was not exactly a good thing when you told him you'd be happy that he died. Hmm?"

Baltar looked her up and down. _How had I ever pined for this pitiable excuse of a woman? _ He then turned slightly to acknowledge the XO.

"Colonel Adama. I'm sorry, but there will be no more arguing with Cottle now. If you don't mind, please leave my infirmary."

The little man turned on his heel and headed over to his desk to write notes in Cottle's chart. He pretended he was busy, but was straining to hear what, if anything, the two of them had to say.

Lee turned to Kara, placing on hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!"

She hissed the words, not wanting anyone to hear her. Tears had begun to well up in her eyes, and she was afraid they were going to spill over at any moment. Before he could say anything more, Kara turned on her heel and started out the way they had come. Right before the entrance to his quarters, Lee had caught up with her and pulled her arm to get her to stop.

"Captain Thrace, halt. And yes, that's an order."

Automatically she obeyed. There weren't many orders she did follow. But she knew that by the tone of Colonel Adama's voice, he wasn't going to let her slide this time.

"Sir, yes sir."

She grudgingly saluted him. Kara hated it when he pulled rank just to get her to do something she didn't want to do. He surprised her by pulling down her hand and opening the door to his quarters. He put one hand in her back and shoved her inside, to the interested stares of a few passersby.

"Get in. We can talk better inside than out here."

The couch was soft and inviting when she sat upon it. Nothing like the hard stark furniture that Colonel Tigh used to have in here. It made her wonder where he'd gotten the stuff. The thought was fleeting, though, as his brain quickly returned to the thought of her now 6 year-old son. Where was he? What was he doing? Did he remember her?

_Of course not, you idiot. He was only one month old when they took him._ She wondered who was taking care of him; if they even were. Or were they torturing him, trying to see how far the human body could be pushed?

Lee looked down at her as she began to cry. Then her crying became sobbing. He couldn't stand to see her like this. It had been almost five years since she'd cried like this. He sat down beside her and reached out to her.

"Kara…it will be alright. Come here."

Grateful for any human contact at the moment, she fell into his embrace and continued sobbing. It hurt so much, the thought of someone else with her baby. The years he had been missing. All the moments they had lost that would never return.

He was having the same thoughts. They weren't so different, he and Kara. He just tended to think with his head, and she with her heart. They both had gotten in trouble with their respective approaches to life. More than once, it had almost cost them living. Adama looked down at the woman he loved. That love had not died. It had just gotten locked away, tightly, where no one and no thing could get near it.

Kara's nose was beginning to swell. She could feel it. _Damn, I must look a mess. _And in front of Lee, too. She had spent years trying to hide from him. Because everyone she ever loved was either dead or missing. She thought fleetingly of Zak and Anders, then of her son. She'd drawn away from Lee because she thought it was better that way. Less chance of her screwing something up just because she loved him. She used the top of her tee-shirt to dry up some of the tears that were still flowing. The thought of what she probably looked like made her laugh.

And it made him smile, if only momentarily. This was the Starbuck he remembered. And he'd missed her so. He picked up her chin between his fingers so that she would look him in the eyes.

"I promise you, Kara Thrace, that one day, we will find him. I'll start patrols tomorrow, if you want."

She pulled his hand from her face. The feeling of his skin against hers brought back too many memories; both happy and sad. She wanted to feel that touch. When she put his hand down, she didn't move hers as they rested together on the cushion.

"Lee, don't make promises you can't keep. Even if he is still alive, there's no guarantee we'll find him. It's been six whole years! How many planetary surveys have we made that the Old Man finally let people go wandering about on the surface. Do you really think that someone who kidnapped him wouldn't have jumped at the opportunity to get away? I know I would."

He couldn't fight with her logic. But something inside of him knew that they would find their son again. And something in him also didn't want to give up hope. After a few minutes of silence, he realized that he had begun staring at her.

"What?"

Lee smiled. He liked this part of Kara. After all their time apart, he wanted only a few moments alone with her. Lee bent down to kiss her. She pulled away.

"Whoa there…what do you think you're doing?"

"Shut up Starbuck."

He hadn't said her call sign out loud in a long time, either. This day was full of one surprise after the next. But she wasn't going to get hurt by him again.

"Lee…you and I both know this isn't a good idea. I know you want me, but both of us are going to end up hurt, and you know it."

Placing one finger to her lips, he finally got her to shut up. He didn't care about the consequences. For a few moments in time, the wall that had steadily built up between them wasn't there. And he planned to take full advantage of it.

"Shh. I _do_ want you Kara. But it's more than that. I _need_ you."

She was taken aback by his revelation. For more than a year she had thought he never wanted to see her again. The way that he had treated her was like she had been beneath him. How stupid she'd been! To think that it was just another way of dealing with his pain. Instead of loving her, he'd been pushing her away. _Gods, men could be so stupid... But so can I. _ She put her hand up to his face, letting him lean it against her palm. As many problems as they'd always had, she still loved him. _Maybe I should just let it go this time. _She nodded her acceptance.

"Are you sure?"

It was her turn to silence him. She reached up and pulled him down into a deep kiss. It was full of longing and hurt and the desire to be comforted. In all the time that they had been together, they'd only made love the one time that their son had been conceived. And she'd broken his heart, then. Kara didn't want to do that again.

Lee let his need for her take reign. He'd wanted to feel her arms around him, giving him the comfort he'd wanted for so long. They'd never fully talked about their relationship after their son had gone. It had remained an open wound that never closed. He loved her, needed her, and craved her. It was more than sheer wanting. Much as he didn't want to admit it, Kara Thrace was an essential part of his soul.

Lying there, spent, he wondered what thoughts were coursing through her mind as well. She laid there, her head tucked neatly on his chest. One arm and one leg were wrapped around him. There was barely enough room left on the long couch. He smiled, thinking of the absurdity of their lives.

She was looking up at him, watching the smile pass over his lips. But it wasn't an arrogant smile. It was more of an ironic one. And it was beginning to annoy her.

"What? What are you smiling about?"

Lee looked down at Kara, and the smile changed to one of contentment. He put one arm around her and hugged her tightly. Then the smile became sad, as he knew that this couldn't last.

"I love you, Kara Thrace. I always have, and I always will."

She understood what it was that he was thinking. Tomorrow would come and they would have to deal with the reality of their situation. The XO could not be romantically linked with the CAG. Even though the Old Man probably would have allowed it, he wasn't in charge of them anymore. And Kara Thrace had no intention of becoming a civilian any time soon.

"I know, Lee. I know. It'll be morning soon. Just hold me, will you?"

She sniffled; her nose still swelling from the tears she'd shed. He thought it was a little cute; her red button nose. He reached down and tweaked it as he shifted so that he could look directly into her eyes.

"I promise you, one day we will see him again. And I promise you, this thing between us is not finished. Not by a long shot."

He held her close to his chest and listened to her breathe as she quickly fell asleep. It was the best sleep she'd had in years. After a few minutes, he had joined her somewhere in his dreams.

_**zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_


	40. My how time flies

It was three months before her seventeenth birthday, and Tamara Agathon still hadn't gotten through to her father. Big hotshot Viper pilot he'd become, and Karl Agathon had no intention of letter his daughter follow in his footsteps. But she would have something to say about that.

"Come on, Dad. I'll be seventeen, soon. Mom was a pilot. You're a pilot. Why can't I be a pilot?"

Helo sighed and put a hand to his slightly balding head. Ever since she'd turned sixteen, Tam had been bothering him about joining the fleet, and learning to be a pilot. She'd finished high school in two years, and had done all her collegiate studies in less than two. Her instructor, a former Caprica City College professor, had said he'd never had anyone so young graduate from any of his programs. Apparently, she'd inherited her intelligence from her mother. It had taken every brain cell he had just to get past basic curriculum.

"Because I said so. End of discussion."

Sharon reached a hand up and lightly touched her husband's face as she passed.

"Honey, she's grown up on a Battlestar. It's in her blood. Do you really think you can keep her from being a pilot if that's what she really wants?"

Helo took her hand in his. He knew that Sharon was right. But he didn't want to accept it. He'd seen too many young nuggets die trying to defend what was left of the human race, and he didn't want his daughter to be one of the ones who didn't make it home.

"I know, Sharon. I just don't want it to happen. And I'm going to do my godsdamned best to make sure that she doesn't become one."

His gaze returned to the paperwork in front of him. He had made it to the rank of major, right alongside Starbuck. But she still got to be the CAG, and he got relegated to doing most of the paperwork. They had seriously different styles of flying, but he thought she could at least do some of the boring work. _But you don't always get what you want. Do you?_

Tam stood there in front of her dad, her bottom lip sticking out. She had perfected her pout from watching her mother. And she knew exactly when and how to use it. She could feel the blockage in front of her desire to be a pilot slowly chipping away.

"Alright Tamara Caroline Agathon. Enough! I'll…I'll think about it. Okay? Now get out of here before I change my mind. Hey, wait a second, where are you going so fast?"

"Uncle Galen said he would teach me and Meg how to repair fuel lines. See you after lunch!"

She zipped out the door before he could protest. Helo shook his head.

"She's got too much of her mother's sneakiness in her."

He reached out and put a hand around his wife's waist. She was still so small…years after they'd gotten married by Parrish, the ship's Commander. They still had endured years of taunts by the colonists, but together the three of them had built up a thick skin, as a unit. With a smile, he thought of how close to her skin he wanted to be at that moment.

Sharon rolled her eyes as she saw the look in his. Every day had become this way. Helo would get dressed for work, and then she worked to undress him again. The longer they were together, the worse he got.

"Come on."

She held her hands behind her, over her head; waiting for him to follow her.

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	41. New Beginnings

Galen watched his little girl in awe. She was covered in grease; the only clean spot left on her was in the middle of her left cheek. Meg was only 13, but she was a whiz with a monkey wrench and a spot welder. _Gods, she would make a great mechanic_. He sighed. Already he knew she was actually gunning to be a pilot.

"Kid's got good genes."

Tyrol snapped to attention.

"At ease, Chief. You don't have to do that for me."

"Yes sir. Sorry sir."

Meg wheeled herself out from under the Raptor she was repairing. She wiped her brow with one sleeve, squinting against the light to see who her father was talking with. She jumped up excitedly with a squeal of delight.

"Lee!"

Squeezing him tightly, she barely noticed the muck she was getting on his clean, pressed uniform. He didn't seem to mind. Lee Adama ruffled her hair lightly.

"Hey little girl! I see your dad's got you working again?"

She gestured to the Raptor behind her, giggling. Before she spoke, she gave her father the slightest wink.

"I'm having to bend the undercarriage back again. Daddy says that Mama's always been doing that on her landings."

Smiling, Lee nodded. He knew that her next job would most probably be fixing another gimbal on one of Kara's Vipers.

"Do you want to sit in on a basic flight class today? Your godmother and your Uncle Karl have a new group of nuggets and prospective nuggets that are going to attend. Kara thought you might like to see. I think Tam's going, too."

With barely contained enthusiasm, she whirled around to Tyrol. He stood there with his arms crossed, a stern look upon his features.

"Please Daddy?"

The sternness melted to a warm fatherly grin. Galen spoke in a most gentle tone.

"Okay, young lady. Go get washed up…and don't be late."

She gave her dad a big bear hug. He and Lee watched her ponytail wagging behind her as she bounced toward the Tyrol's quarters to hurry and get changed. Adama smiled at the older man, noticing the color change in his hair at the temples. The Chief had been going gray since his last promotion, but Lee figured it had more to do with the little girl who had just left. Tyrol noticed the Colonel's line of sight as he reached up to smooth what was left of his hair.

"Yeah, it's going gray…more white, really. I'm surprised it didn't happen any sooner; between her and her mother."

Lee laughed out loud.

"I'm sure she'll be a fine mechanic, Chief."

"Frak that…sir. My little girl is going to be a pilot. She'll just be one who'll be able to fix her own ship. That is, if I have anything to say about it. Her mother doesn't really want her to be in the military."

Lee nodded, looking off into the distance. He wondered what his own son would want to be doing…right about now.

_**ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ**_

"Elijah! Come to dinner! Your father will be here soon!"

Elijah could hear his mother from down the hall. They lived in a luxury suite aboard the Rising Star. His father only came over on the weekends, and he didn't show much real interest in his 'family' anyway.

"Coming, mother!"

He could smell dinner wafting through the air ducts. Just once he would like to go out to dinner! Elijah couldn't remember a single time they had gone out to eat. In fact, he had never been allowed to even go off ship. He was home-schooled. When he was little, it had never really bothered him. But he would be seventeen in six months and he'd had just about enough of it. He intended to talk to his parents about it over the evening meal.

"Thank you, mother."

Looking up as he felt the familiar warm squeeze on his right shoulder, he noticed how tired she looked. His mother was tall, with piercing blue eyes. _I guess that's where I get them from_. Her dark hair fell in waves that rested just beneath her shoulders, and she always spoke in that soft, sultry voice.

"You okay, mother?"

She sighed, her own shoulders softening. Today was the day. It was the one she had feared for over sixteen years.

"Yes honey. I'm fine. Just getting a little old, that's all."

Elijah knew that wasn't the truth. His mother had barely seemed to age since he was a small child. Some kind of miracle facial cream was what she always said. He'd never believed that, either. There wasn't a single thing that had ever been in the bathroom besides soap and shampoo. _Everybody has their secrets._

Eating his dinner in silence, he watched the seconds tick by on the wall clock. Father was fifteen minutes late, and mother was fidgeting in the kitchen. He heard the familiar click of his father's keys in the lock. Elijah saw his mother biting her lower lip. He sighed, pushing his dinner away from him.

"I'm done, mother."

"Finished, you mean. Hello Eli."

His father reached up to give his son a great, big hug. Doctor Baltar had quietly watched the boy grow up, knowing that one day he would have to tell the truth. And he had told Gina long ago that he would tell him the truth. And that there would be nothing to stop him.

But she didn't go by the name Gina anymore. To everyone else, Gina had died on the Pegasus, long ago. She kept her face emotionless as she slipped the poison into his evening tea; then a little into her own. She would listen to it…hear him out. But she wouldn't have to live with it. And she wouldn't betray Elijah, either. She had severed her connection more than a week ago.

"Rebecca, would you come, please. We have much to talk about."

She knew what they had to talk about. A dull ache had begun inside her stomach. If this was what it was like to have a soul, then she was glad to be dying. For sixteen years, she had guided this boy to be the most intelligent, resourceful person that she had ever known. He had already finished high school, and he surpassed most of his fellow seniors in college. And soon, tonight or tomorrow, in fact…he would probably be stepping onto the Galactica, to meet the rest of his family. Looking at him, she finally understood what it meant to love. Not to lust, not to envy. She loved this boy as if he had been her own…and she would genuinely miss him. As she looked at him, she began to cry.

"Coming!"

Elijah looked up to see the tears on his mother's face. It occurred to him that he had never seen her cry. All the times that his father had fought with her, she ended up laughing. It pained him to see her this way, though he didn't know why. He had never cried, either. He turned his attention back to his father, who apparently thought he had something important to say.

"Eli, your mother and I have something to talk to you about. You see, for sixteen years and five months, you have lived here on the Rising Star, to be guided and sheltered until the time came for you to leave."

"Yes father, I know…I'm going to orientation on the Galactica tomorrow…."

Gaius Baltar did not like to be interrupted, nor talked down to. His many conversations with Kara Thrace had taught him that, long ago. How he hated the woman.

"Enough! You don't know as much as you think, young man. Now, as I was saying…."

Elijah listened more attentive this time. The man that he had always thought was his father was apparently not his real father. And as he looked back to Rebecca crying, he realized that she was not his mother, either. Somehow, it didn't affect him as he thought such a revelation would. He looked back at Baltar, who was taking a sip from his evening tea.

"As I was saying, I know this isn't easy for you to take, but it was for your own good. It was part of God's plan. You're a very special boy and you…you…. I'm feeling a bit dizzy…must be from all the stress. You have…a…a…."

The good doctor fell to the floor, slumped over from the poison in his tea. Elijah watched as his adoptive father's breathing slowed almost to a stop. With a gasp, Baltar was dead. He looked up to Rebecca, who was holding onto a cup of the same tea in her fragile hands. She was still crying as she looked at him, trying to speak clearly.

"Son…I know…I shouldn't call you that. But I really do think of you as my son. I only want the best for you, and so with a glad heart I'm telling you this. Once you're on the Galactica, try and find Lee Adama and Kara Thrace. It'll be your own face that you'll be seeing in theirs. It was something that Gaius never wanted you to know."

She drank the cup in one quick gulp. The poison took effect quite rapidly, and he reached over to close her staring eyes. Elijah looked around the apartment he had lived in for sixteen years, then grabbed the duffel his 'mother' had told him to pack in advance. _It's time to go home_.

_**ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ**_


	42. A New Generation

Tamara smiled to herself as she watched the new prospects come in on the Raptor flights. _Lord, these rooks are gonna have a time of it_. She could pick out the greenest of the green. Some of them weren't even in last week's orientation group. Tam herself was already light years ahead of the other nuggets, and she had her parents and Starbuck to thank for that. She felt her cousin's arms wrap around her waist.

"Hey Meggie! How's the grunt work coming? Ow!"

Her arm stung where Meg had just punched her. For being three years younger, she had a lot of strength in those arms.

"Whatever, Tam! I'm gonna be a pilot, just like mom and Uncle Karl. I'll be just as good as Starbuck, only I'll know how to fix everything I break."

The younger girl smiled smugly, and then turned her attention to the new recruits. Her eye was caught by a young man of about average height, with dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She pointed him out to her older cousin.

"Hey, who's that? He looks lost."

Tam followed Meg's gesture. She, too, saw the young boy who was looking around curiously…as if he'd just 'stepped off the boat'. _He's cute._

"I don't know, Meg. Why don't we go find out?"

Pulling Meg with her right arm, she strode over to where the young man was standing all by himself.

"Hi there! I'm Tam and this is Meg, and we're your personal welcoming committee here onboard the Galactica."

Standing slightly behind her cousin, Meg waved at him. The boy smiled at her and waved back. He then turned to Tamara, holding out his right hand.

"Hi, my name is Elijah. Nice to make your acquaintance."

Tam laughed out loud at his words as Meg elbowed her in the side.

"Nice to make your acquaintance? Who speaks like that? Come on, we'll show you around."

Elijah looked curiously at the two girls, then the group of people nearby. He figured it couldn't hurt. He'd probably get a better idea of what he'd be dealing with, anyway.

"Okay."

He followed them out of the hangar deck and into the dark corridors of the ship.

_**Ztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt**_

They first showed him the showers and bathrooms, affectionately called the 'head'. He laughed at that, seeing as it was the other end that one used when one went inside. Another place that held a curious nickname to him was the bunks in the pilot's quarters. They were called 'racks'. Tamara cocked one eyebrow as he laughed at that one. _This guy doesn't get around much._

Sickbay was next. He felt a slight tinge of regret, knowing that Dr. Baltar would never return, and that Galactica would have to search for another ship's doctor. Meg reached out and touched his hand, seeing the sad look on his face.

"Hey, Eli…you okay?"

He smiled at the shortening of his name. Few people who weren't familiar with him called him that.

"Yeah, kid. I am. It just reminds me of someone I knew once. Where next?"

They led him back towards the hangar deck, to Galen Tyrol's office. The Master Chief firmly gripped Elijah's hand. He could tell that Meg's father was a good man.

"Nice to meet you, son. Let me introduce you to Captain Sharon Valerii, Meg's mom."

Boomer came out from behind her desk, where she had been facing away from them, and shook his hand, too. She held his hand a little longer, looking at him curiously before she smiled.

"Nice to make your acquaintance."

"Told you he wasn't the only one who talked that way!"

Tamara rubbed her shoulder. That was three punches in one day from her cousin. She didn't look forward to a fourth.

"Come on guys. Let's go grab some lunch at my place."

She led them down another hallway that ran almost parallel to the first. But this one ended at a doorway. Once having been the Executive Suite, a door had been added to the end of the conference room, and the whole unit converted into a one-family apartment for the Agathons.

"Home suite home."

Tamara laughed at her own pun. But no sooner had they crossed the threshold that they could hear her mother's voice from down the hall.

"Tamara Caroline Agathon, you're ten minutes late for lunch which means you're going to be at least that late for your first class. You know the deal with your dad was you had to be on time, every time! Oh…hello."

"Talk about déjà vu!"

The words had escaped Eli's mouth before he could stop them. It wasn't every day you met two different mothers who looked exactly the same.

Sharon smiled. She had already deduced by the look on his face that the young man in front of her would soon be a nugget, and that he had just finished meeting Boomer. She put out her hand.

"Sharon Agathon, Tam's mom. And I guess you've already met Meg's mom. Yes, we're twins. Long lost ones. And yes, we're both named Sharon. It's a long story. Any other questions?"

He smiled, taking her hand in turn.

"No ma'am. Elijah Taylor, ma'am."

Putting a hand to his shoulder, she nudged him toward the table.

"Elijah Taylor, it is time for lunch."

They were having such a good time that Tamara had lost track of it. She looked up at the clock over on the wall. 15:05.

"Frak."

She hadn't meant for the epithet to leave her lips.

"Sorry mom. I'm late already. Got to go, cuz."

Sharon laughed as she watched the door slam in her daughter's wake. She turned to the two youngsters that were still sitting at her table.

"Meg, why don't you take Mr. Taylor to see a few more sites before he has to bunk down for the night? He might like to see the museum. A lot of times, they don't go over there during orientation."

She hugged her niece and shooed them out the door. Sharon remembered when she had been their age…or when she was supposed to have been their age. All full of promise and wonder. _It's a new generation_.

The thought sent a shiver down her spine, though she couldn't exactly fathom why.

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_**Thanks for the reviews. Some of you are right in the direction I'm heading…some of you are wrong. The only way to know for sure is to keep reading. Oh…and Bill Adama isn't out for the count! He's old…he's crotchety…but he's still around! Stay tuned! This thing has a mind of its own….:)**_


	43. First glances

Meg was glad to be rid of Tamara. She was great, for being her cousin and all. But boy, could she be pushy. _Just wait until I'm a pilot…she'll see_. Tam always thought that because both of her parents were pilots that she was better than everybody else. Whereas she sometimes looked down on Meg because her father was the Chief of the Deck.

"Come on, then. We haven't got all day."

She grabbed onto Elijah's hand and pulled him down the hallway. She was heading toward the pre-flight ready room. Meg wanted him to meet the infamous Starbuck.

Elijah was amazed at the young girl in front of him. When her older cousin had been around, she was all shy and introverted. Now that Tam was gone, the kid had become a regular juggernaut.

"Where are we going?"

Smiling, she rolled her eyes.

"If I told you, there would be no surprise in it, now would there? Come on. We're almost there."

They stopped at an open doorway that obviously led to a greater room beyond it. There were nuggets filing out of the room, having just finished a late class. A loud voice boomed from within.

"Now, don't be late tomorrow! If you do, I promise you that none of you will pass basic flight!"

Meg giggled. She was used to her godmother speaking that way to the rookies. But she knew the truth. Kara Thrace was one big softie on the inside. The CAG came into view as they rounded the corner. Her face lit up at the sight of her goddaughter.

"Megan, hello. Who you got there?"

Elijah looked curiously to the woman. She was above-average height, but not tall like Rebecca had been. She had chin-length blonde hair, and greenish-hazel eyes. This definitely did not look like a woman who would be considered a push-over. Topped off with the fact she was chewing on the one end of a cigar, she was not like any woman he'd ever seen on the Rising Star.

"This is Eli. Eli, this is Starbuck."

Starbuck. He'd heard about her. Everyone in the fleet probably had. She was some kind of hotshot pilot who'd killed more enemy fighters than any other in the history of the fleet. Or something like that. Being ever the gentleman, Elijah offered his hand again for the umpteenth time that day.

"Nice to meet you, Starbuck."

Kara laughed as she shook his hand.

"Good grip, kid. Nice to meet you, too. Are you won of the newbies around here? Yep, I thought so. Well, that was the first class of the year. I teach one and there are two other instructors on the board…Major Agathon and Captain Katraine. Helo is Megan's uncle, and Kat…well…let's just say she's been gunning for my job for years. Do you know whose class you've been assigned to?"

Rummaging around in his duffel, Elijah found his class schedule he'd been given upon boarding the Raptor flight earlier that morning. It looked like he was in luck.

"Yes ma'am. It looks like I've got yours."

Shaking her head, she corrected him as she looked at the piece of paper he offered up.

"First of all, you'll have to get used to calling all of us 'sir'. Even the women officers get called 'sir' around here. Well, you've missed orientation and your first class…have you seen much of the rest of the ship?"

Megan answered before he could.

"Yes ma'am. We have. First Tam and I showed him around all the basic stuff, and then Aunt Sharon told me to take him to the museum…but I thought I should let him meet you first."

The words came out in a quick gush of air. Eli smiled and nodded at his new flight instructor. Starbuck reached out and gave Meg a hug.

"Well, it's off to the museum you go, then. And Taylor? Better get some sleep tonight. We start off at 06:00 her on this ship. Class is at 06:30. Hey, Meg? Leave the CIC off the tour for today. We're going by there at the end of the week."

Once again, Eli followed little Meg out the way they had come, leaving Kara Thrace to watch curiously as her goddaughter had the first signs of puppy love or hero worship. _I hope it's the latter. _She looked at the clock and swore as she gathered up the paperwork in front of her. It was 17:30, and tonight she had a date.

"Frak, he's gonna kill me!"

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	44. Late, again

"Frak me."

It was the middle of the week, and Starbuck was not amused. Three days of teaching rooks about basic flight and now this. She had to go and talk to Lee.

"Frak me."

Kara fidgeted with the belt buckle on her flight suit. She still had an afternoon run today on CAP, and then she was supposed to share dinner with Lee. How was she going to break the news to him, she didn't know.

"Frak me."

"Major Thrace, is there a problem?"

Kara came to attention and saluted the Commander. She hadn't realized that she was speaking aloud. He told her to relax, but the order did nothing to release the tension in her shoulders.

"Sir, no sir."

Parrish smiled his easy smile. He had always liked Major Thrace, even though he knew that she could be a hard-ass when it came to flying. She suffered no fools and took no prisoners while in the cockpit. If he hadn't been her commanding officer, he would have asked her out a long time ago.

"Thrace, I said at ease. My name is Jack, remember?"

Nervously, she fidgeted with her buckle again, unable to meet his gaze. She knew that Jack had a crush on her for quite some time. But her heart and soul belonged to someone else.

"Sorry, Jack. No…no problems here. At least…there's nothing I can't handle. I'm just on my way to talk to the XO."

Again that disarming smile. Jack had known there was something going on between Colonel Adama and Major Thrace for years now…he just wished he'd gotten to her first.

"Okay Thrace. Have a good afternoon."

Kara sighed as she watched the Galactica's young Commander walk back toward CIC. Jack Parrish was only three years older than Lee, and he seemed to know that one day the younger man would be taking over his job. That is, if the stress of being his XO didn't kill him first.

She walked over to the door, knocking tentatively. A smiling Lee Adama opened it for her, and looked genuinely concerned when he saw Kara's face.

"Hey Starbuck. What's wrong?"

Kara sunk down on the old couch. She didn't know what to say first. It just spilled out.

"Lee…frak me…Lee…. I'm late again."

Lee looked up at the clock on the wall, his brow furrowing as he saw the time.

"You're not late, Kara. You still have twenty minutes before you have to launch for CAP."

She forced herself not to laugh. Poor man thought she was talking about her work schedule. Kara ran one hand through her already disheveled hair, and then put her both hands in her lap, twiddling her fingers.

"I'm late, Lee. As in when a woman is late. Do you get it now?"

He turned around and looked at her as if he'd been gob smacked. Lee didn't know whether to hug her or to kill her.

"You're kidding, right? Are you kidding me, or are you serious?"

Kara was going to cry. How could he think she was kidding about something as serious as this?

"Lee, I'm thirty-seven years old! I'm too old to have another baby!"

He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. The prospect of another child on the way made him nothing short of ecstatic.

"But how…? When…? Back to the how…."

"I know. I'm going to kill that fracking doctor when he brings his genius ass back onboard this ship! Birth control my ass."

A grim look passed over Lee's face. He had been thinking of how to breach the subject of Dr. Gaius Baltar and his companion to her. _Guess this is as good a time as any_. He reached over to the table and pulled an envelope off of it. Inside were a few pictures he wanted her to see.

"You won't have to kill him, Kara. The man's already dead. Ship's security on the Rising Star found him yesterday in a private suite that he apparently kept there. And look who they found with him."

He pointed out the woman in the second photograph. She was slumped over, and her eyes were closed…but there was no denying her identity.

"Son of a bitch! Gaius Baltar in cahoots with a Cylon. It honestly doesn't surprise me. But I thought Gina was dead?"

Lee nodded.

"So did everybody else, apparently. When the Warrant Officer went over to talk to some of the neighbors, they found out that she'd been living there for some time. She never really talked to many people…kind of kept to herself. I think they said she was…oh, here it is. Ship's barber? I guess she found another line of work after offing an Admiral."

He put down the photos and took her face into his hands. Looking at the clock once again, he smiled. It seemed Kara Thrace might be a little late for CAP after all.

"Now, as for being too old to be a mother…. Why don't we go practice a little more of the maneuvers that got us to this point in the first place? We can deal with the Dr. Baltar issue later. You're on my time now."

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_**Now, who says that they haven't been having fun the last ten years or so? Hmm? More fun to come!**_


	45. Well, surprise,surprise

"I'm telling you, Helo…this kid's the best I've ever seen. It's been less than a week and he already knows a Viper, inside and out."

Karl Agathon laughed. He didn't think he'd ever seen Starbuck gush over a nugget the way she did for this kid, Eli. He scoffed at what he thought was her overblown assessment.

"Whatever, Thrace."

Kara stopped in her tracks, hands on her hips. The challenging look in her eyes reminded him of when they were younger. When she was getting ready to nail somebody in a Pyramid game.

"Just you wait! My class goes against yours at the weapons range this afternoon. Kat's bringing hers, too. Want to wager who will come out on top?"

"No way Kara. You know I don't bet on rooks. Besides…I'm pretty sure that Tam will clean up, as usual."

He wasn't so sure of himself as Elijah and Tamara came to their final round. All the other trainees had been knocked out of contention. In hitting their targets, these two had been toe to toe, so far.

Tam looked over at the new kid. She was more than a little impressed. _Cute, and a good shot to boot. _She spoke in a low, teasing voice.

"Think you can take me?"

Elijah didn't flinch. Nor did he acknowledge her with a single word or gesture. Helo's breath came out as a whistle when Kara spoke.

"He is soooo gonna kick her ass. That's my boy."

The tiniest of twitches appeared at the corner of his eye. Imperceptible to everyone watching, he then felt a surge of pride at her encouragement. Eli focused on the task at hand. Captain Katraine tried to hide the excitement in her voice.

"Okay, you two. Ten targets; ten shots. The person with the most bull's-eyes wins. Got it? All right, let's go!"

It was over in a matter of seconds. Tam was breathing heavily as she squinted down the barrel of her sidearm. Elijah calmly relaxed his shoulders and holstered his weapon. He waited patiently for the targets to be judged. Kat walked over from the side, and made her announcement.

"Elijah Taylor, ten!"

A great big cheer went up from his classmates and instructor alike.

"Tamara Agathon, nine! Sorry Tam, I think you've finally been beaten."

"Told you so. Better luck next time, Helo."

He'd known Kara for more almost twenty years, and she never wasted an opportunity to rub it in when she was right and the other person opposite her was wrong. He smiled, and then looked at his daughter. Poor Tam had a frown on her face, but she took it in stride. She reached out and shook her opponent's hand.

"Just wait for the rematch."

Elijah smiled, knowing he had beaten the crowd favorite. But he had to do it. If only for her.

Kara Thrace walked over and put an unsuspecting hand on Eli's shoulder. _The kid is amazing._ She also had a surprise up her sleeve for him.

"Guess what, kiddo. You get to go up to CIC this evening with me…right before shift change. You'll get to meet some pretty important people up there. 18:30 hours. Don't be late."

He nodded, feeling even more special at that moment. The pats on his back he was getting from his classmates made the day even better. He had never felt this way in his entire life. _So much for a sheltered kid. I told you I'd do well. _He looked upward, hoping his surrogate mother was out there somewhere, listening.

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She carefully adjusted the collar of his uniform and picked a piece of lint off the shoulder of his uniform. My, was he going to make her proud. Kara had already told Lee about the kid, and she had promised that he wouldn't be disappointed. It was rare that she spoke up about any of her students. In this case, the student was proving to be exceptional at everything he did.

"Okay, Eli. You're going to want to be on your toes. The XO will be there, as well as a few visitors and dignitaries. That's mainly why they're letting us show up, too. Let's just say I called in a favor or two."

Elijah nodded, knowing that this was important to her. Tamara had told him how cool the CIC would be, and how he would get to know some of the inner workings of the ship there. He felt almost as excited about it as he could see that Starbuck was.

"Yes, sir. I promise not to speak out of turn."

Kara laughed, shaking her head. _Since when had they not expected that of her?_

"If you want to know something, don't be afraid to ask. A lot of the people that will be there are friends of mine. I've served with most of them for the majority of our adult lives. Excuse me for a moment."

She went into the closest room, looking for a trash can. _Damned morning sickness_. It always seemed to hit her at the wrong time. Kara thought it was a good thing that she didn't remember much about her last pregnancy. As she came back into the corridor, Elijah looked at her questioningly.

"Starbuck, are you all right?"

Nodding, she put a gentle hand to his back to make him move forward.

"Come on, Eli…. We're going to be late."

As they entered the CIC, she felt Lee's eyes on her. Seeing him near Gaeta's Dradis console, she smiled and waved at him. Many of the people surrounding them smiled at the sight of them being so happy again…or at least what passed for contentment between the two. It had been a very rocky road between Apollo and Starbuck.

She led Eli around, introducing him to various members of the crew. As they came full circle, another group of visitors made its way through the entrance/exit door. Kara looked closely and found one of them to be someone she hadn't seen in quite some time.

Bill Adama was just as strong-looking as he'd ever been. Sure, his hair was a shocking white, but it hadn't taken the bite out of his words or his wit. Since retiring from the service, he and Laura Roslyn had moved in together, quietly living the civilian life. He nodded as he, too, saw Kara from the other side of the room.

"Come on. There are two more people that I want you to meet."

Elijah followed her to the observation area, where visitors were allowed to stand back and see everything that was going on, without getting in the way. There was a man about Kara's age, talking to the older gentleman with the white hair. They looked like father and son. Elijah smiled, and as the younger of the two turned to greet him, he found himself looking into his own set of eyes. Kara made the appropriate introductions.

"Colonel Adama, I'd like you to meet Elijah Taylor."

Lee reached down to shake the kid's hand, experiencing slight déjà vu when he did so. His father, who had been distracted talking to Commander Parrish, turned to speak to Kara.

"So, Starbuck…. What is this I hear about my being a grandfather…?"

Bill Adama's words stopped there. Curiously he looked at the young man before him. There was something strangely familiar about the kid.

"I'm sorry…your name was…?"

Elijah knew this man. He could feel it in every cell of his body. In his mind's eye, a faint memory came to him, of looking up into a much younger face…belonging to the same man. But it was Bill Adama's voice that triggered the memory itself. He had barely been a month old, but he could see it just as if he were witnessing it in front of him today. He offered up his hand, and shook the older man's hand firmly.

"My name is Elijah, sir. You used to be known as Admiral Adama, sir. And I was once known to you as Christopher. I am your grandson."

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	46. In dreams

Starbuck shot out of bed so fast she almost hit her head.

"Whoa! That was one whacked-out dream!"

"Shh…you'll wake Lydia."

Turning to one side, she smiled as she saw Lee, wiping the sleep from his eyes. The quarters were still sparsely decorated. A few additions had been made, however; particularly in the form of a toddler bed and a bin full of handmade toys. Lee reached over to the side table and picked up his watch.

"Frak, Kara. It's 02:00. Go back to sleep."

Her mind was racing too much for her to go back to sleep. She reached up to her chest, feeling her heart keeping time with her brain. _I need something to get my mind off of this._

"Lee, it's the same dream I've had for the last three years. Always the same. The details in it never change. Look, I'm going to the gym for a little while. See if I can't work this out on a punching bag."

She leaned over and gave his lips a quick brush with hers. He was already fast asleep before she finished dressing in her workout clothes. Before shutting the door, she took a quick look at her beautiful daughter, who was looking to take after her headstrong mother exactly.

"Sweet dreams, sweetheart. Hope they're better than mine."

The cool air in the corridor outside their quarters brought a chill to her bare, sweaty skin. She quickly got used to the feel of it, though. Most times on a battlestar, the air was warm and stuffy. People usually attributed it to the abundance of warm bodies constantly moving about.

She welcomed the feeling when she started to throw rapid punches at the aging red bag. The familiar feel of release was fleeting after each movement. Usually it didn't take her this long to work out her feelings; but the dreams were coming more and more often. They had definitely increased since Lydia had been born.

Kara jumped when she realized she was no longer alone in the room.

"Good gods, Taylor! How long have you been standing there like that?"

Elijah smiled halfheartedly. He'd been there quite some time, but Major Thrace had been so absorbed in her jabs that she didn't notice he was there. His brow furrowed as he focused his sight on the scars he saw on her lower abdomen, while absentmindedly wondering if she, too, was there because she couldn't sleep.

"About ten minutes, sir. If that bag were a man, he'd be sporting a pretty sore face, right about now."

Kara laughed out loud. She had noticed where he was looking, and figured he was probably going to ask about that first. Some of the tension she'd gotten rid of returned though, when she looked at his troubled face. It made her think of the dream again.

"Is something wrong, Lieutenant?"

She saw Elijah blink, as if he hadn't heard the question. He then looked up at her and smiled lightly.

"I'm fine, sir. Just some bad dreams. Do you have bad dreams?"

Sighing, Kara sat down on the bench at the wall and patted the seat next to her. It had already started out as a long night. It seemed neither of them were going back to bed anytime soon.

"Sit down, Elijah. And since no one else is around, you can call me Kara."

When he got closer, she noticed just how much sleep the young pilot hadn't been getting. There were dark circles under his eyes. And there was a slight growth of stubble where usually he was clean shaven.

"I have bad dreams all the time. Ever since…well, that's a long story really. And I don't exactly like retelling it anyway."

Elijah knew how she felt. But he had been itching to ask her since the first time he'd seen her in the gym like this. There was a rumor going around that the scars were from a botched surgery after a failed mission. But he had never believed it. Tamara knew the truth. As always, his friend kept a few things to herself…especially where her godmother was concerned. He decided to chance upsetting her anyway.

"Major, I don't want to sound forward for asking this, but…. How did you get those two scars on your abdomen?"

Kara sighed. She'd known that eventually one of the rooks would ask her about it. And in all honesty, she was glad it had been Eli. There was something about the man that made her feel more comfortable around him. _Reminds me a little bit of Lee when he was young_. She started to tell him about the trip to Caprica…and how she had gotten captured after being shot. Starbuck traced one line and then the other as she described what they were there for.

"This vertical one, here. That's from where the Cylons took out the bullet and repaired the damage. The horizontal one, here. That one we're still not sure about. They were doing some kind of testing on human females to see if they were suitable subjects for implantation. Something like that."

She sighed as she thought back to the Farm; to Caprica and to Anders, back when he was alive and strong and smiling at her with that stupid grin. Kara had really loved him, for what it had been worth.

"Sir, is it true that you once had another child?"

Her head snapped up at his inquiry. How had he known that? He must have overheard someone talking about it when Lydia was born.

"Yes. Yes, I do have a son. Not had. I believe that he's still out there, somewhere. I have always had the feeling that I would see him again someday."

Elijah frowned. He knew how that felt, too. He really wanted to tell Kara and Lee about himself; about what Gaius had once said to him. But the time was not right. He was waiting for something. And Eli didn't yet know what that something was, but he knew deep inside that he had to wait. In the meantime, he spent as much time as he could around his parents outside of work. He'd already missed sixteen of his nineteen years with them.

As if feeling some of what he was thinking, Kara decided to ask Elijah about his own family.

"What about your parents, Eli? I noticed that you don't talk about them much. And they've never been on the invite for a single Colonial Day celebration."

He cocked an eyebrow and smiled at her. In all the time he'd been on Galactica, only Meg had wanted to know about his personal life. It kind of made him feel like more of an outsider because of it.

"Not much to tell, Kara. I was adopted not long after the Second Cylon War. But both of my adoptive parents died, not long after I came to join up. My mother wasn't too keen on letting me go, but she knew it was something I had to do for myself. My father...well, he never spent that much time at home anyway. He used to be a doctor back on Caprica before all of this started."

She turned to look at him more closely, rubbing her stomach absentmindedly.

"Really? Well, if anyone ever bothers you, you can make fun of them by telling them that you're just Starbuck's long lost bastard son. That'll shut them up for a while. Now come on. You've got CAP in the morning and I know it. You think Major Agathon doesn't run the schedules by me anymore just because he's the CAG now? I'll see you in a few hours. I may be getting older, but I'm not done flying yet."

She stood up, pulling him with her and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry Eli. It only gets harder from here on out."

He forced his shoulders to relax as they started down the hallway together…mother and son. He looked over at her, wondering when it was that God would let him spill the beans. _If you only knew…._

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	47. Little Secrets

"Tell me again, why are we altering some old dress uniforms to fit me?"

Tamara laughed. Some men could be so stupid. It wasn't as if they hadn't been explained this tradition by just about every one of their superiors already. She stuck a pin into the hem of the pants and just barely stuck T-Bone in the leg with it…to get his undivided attention. He swore so loud you'd think she'd cut off his leg instead.

"Charles, it's for something called the ladies' choice dance. Once a year for the past five years, all the officers and enlisted hands…even the old and crotchety ones…they get together for one night to dance the night away. Somewhere down the line, our elders got tired of Colonial Day being the only time they could see the females of the fleet in dresses; just the officers anyway. And it's the women who get to ask out the men to the dance. You've got a problem with that?"

Charles Henley knew better to keep his mouth shut and just shake his head. When Shaker got an idea to do something in that pretty little head of hers, it was a really bad idea for anyone to try and object. He was still rubbing his calf where she had stuck him previously.

"What about you flyboy? Any objections to going with me to the dance?"

She directed her question to Lieutenant Taylor, who was quietly sitting in the corner, reading a flight manual that her Uncle Galen had given him. Anybody else would have found it utterly boring, but Eli seemed to find interest in even the tiniest details of life. It took him a minute before he lifted his head to respond.

"Hmm? Who, me? Yes, I object Tam. I've already got a date."

"Hey, Agathon! Watch it!"

T-Bone was rubbing his leg again where Tamara had slipped and this time she stuck the pin in a little too far. There was a small trickle of blood coming from what was now a much larger hole that originally was not a part of his epidermis.

Her mouth hung open in surprise. Eli had always gone with her to the dances. She had been counting on it again this year. It was almost too late for her to ask anyone else.

"Who the frak are you going to go with? I don't remember you mentioning any new girlfriends to me."

Elijah sat there and shook his head, a sly smile on his lips. _Since when did Tamara Agathon care who he dated? _He laughed as he looked back down at the manual, beginning to read again.

"You'll see, Tam. It's a surprise. You'll see."

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	48. Never too late

All eyes turned to the couple that had just walked into the room. The young man was tall and lean, immaculately dressed in his uniform. It was the teenaged girl on his arm that they couldn't believe. In fact the words that slipped out of Tamara Agathon's mouth said it all.

"Oh no he didn't!"

Charlie nearly choked on his punch, spiked by Tam's uncle himself, as he turned to see what she was talking about.

"Frakking Melinda Tigh. I should have known. That's why he was being so smug yesterday."

But they really had no idea. To Eli, Melinda was a pretty enough girl, but in personality, she was just like her mother. He had a feeling that the only reason she asked him was to make future contacts. Her own mother Ellen's calculating nature had driven the Galactica's former XO straight into his own grave, via a very handy method…death by alcoholism.

He'd really agreed because no one else had asked him. Tamara had assumed he would go with her, but she never actually asked him this year. The young lieutenant did not want to be one of the only ones stuck in his rack without a date. So he'd agreed to go with Melinda. And it didn't hurt that everyone's jaws were dropping as they came inside.

"Ms. Tigh, would you like some punch?"

She looked at him carefully, smiling like the cat that had caught the canary. She had inherited Tom Zarek's eyes, but everything else was from her mother. From the petite body she had slipped into the drop dead gorgeous blue dress that had to have been one of Ellen's, to the long blonde hair she had elegantly put upon her head; small tendrils of which were trailing down her back.

"Yes, please."

He gave a quick little bow, and made his way to the punch bowl. The angry look on Tamara's face surprised him as he poured his date a fresh cup.

"So, moved on to the big leagues, have we? You couldn't wait to pull this one on me, could you? And I'm supposed to be your best friend."

Cocking his head, he thought that she couldn't seriously be jealous. _Could she?_

"What the frak is that supposed to mean, Tam? I told you it would be a surprise. If you'd wanted me to go with you, the why the frak didn't you ask me yourself!"

He turned and walked back over to his date, only to find that she was chatting up someone else. From the sidelines, Lee Adama was laughing at the scene, remembering all too well what a female Tigh was like. He pointed it out to Starbuck, laughing under his breath.

"Hey, Kara…look what your prized pilot has gotten himself into."

She stopped talking to Helo long enough to take a glance in that direction. It was one of the most ridiculous things she had seen in a long time, and she figured she'd go rescue the poor kid before he got in any deeper.

"Excuse me. I'll be back."

Striding over to where Lieutenant Taylor was stuck watching his date engrossed in talking to other people, she tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he would join her out on the dance floor.

"Thank you, Major. I needed that."

He sighed as they began to twirl around the dance floor. Somehow, the movements felt familiar to Kara. She remembered gliding across the floor with Lee on Colonial Day, so many light years before.

"Did anyone ever tell you you're a pretty good dancer, Eli?"

Nodding, he carefully twirled her around again, trying not to step on her toes. When he was around her, he felt like he was on familiar territory, and he thought how much of a pun that really could turn out to be.

"Yes, sir. I'm guessing I inherited it from either my birth mother or father. Because my adoptive parents never danced. They never did much together, really."

Kara's attention at that moment had been captured by the Tyrol family, who was just walking into the room. Megan had come with both her mother and her father, as she felt too embarrassed at almost seventeen to ask anyone out. She could barely speak herself as she watched her little goddaughter, now all grown up.

"Well, would you look at that? She's gorgeous!"

Eli turned to look at what Kara had seen, stopping mid-swing. He'd never seen little Meg in a dress before. And what he was seeing with his eyes that really didn't believe it, basically took his breath away.

More than a few gentlemen noticed when Megan Tyrol came into view. She was wearing a light yellow frock that her mother had helped her sew. And her long hair, wavy from her father's side of the gene pool, fell in ringlets over her shoulders and down her back. Ensign Tyrol was indeed a sight to see.

Sharon Valerii put one hand on her daughter's arm and the other on her partner's. But she mainly spoke to Galen.

"It's all right honey. No one is going to bite."

He contained a growl under his breath as he responded.

"They'd better not. I've got connections. Anyone who offends my little girl will end up on latrine duty for a month."

Sharon rolled her eyes, knowing that Galen was being entirely serious. She began to steer her grouchy glorified mechanic to the refreshment table.

"Come on guys. I think I see my sister and her husband guarding the punch."

Kara laughed as she watched Eli's face. His expression hadn't changed, and his eyes hadn't moved from the family who had walked in the door. She waved one hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Hey, Taylor…you're staring. Eli!"

He snapped out of it, like he had been in a trance. She's so beautiful. There was no sign of the grease monkey he had known for the past three years. Every hair was in place. Her dress fit every curve. Nothing like the bulky orange jumpsuits she had worn when helping her father repair the downed Vipers and Raptors that flew in every day.

"Sorry, sir. What can I say? Whoa! I didn't know that was possible."

She punched the young officer in the arm as Lee walked over to cut in.

"Let me give you a piece of advice, Lieutenant Taylor. When a woman is standing in front of you, looking that gorgeous, you need to go ask her to dance. It took me almost twenty years to learn that with Major Thrace. Go on kid. Ask her."

Elijah decided to take Colonel Adama's advice. He slowly walked over to where Meg was still standing with her parents, a cup of punch held delicately in one hand. It took more than a few deep breaths before he could get the words to come out of his mouth. The stern look in Master Chief Tyrol's eyes didn't help matters much.

"Meg…would you like to dance?"

Megan looked at her father, who nodded. Not that she really needed his approval, anyway. But out of respect for him, she thought she should at least see if he did.

"Sure…thanks."

Walking out to the dance floor, Elijah felt so much better now than he did when he'd walked into the room with Melinda Tigh. On his arm was a young woman he'd watch grow from a meek little girl, hiding behind her older cousin's back, to a strikingly beautiful Viper pilot. _I think I'm in love._

Megan smiled as she felt more beautiful than she ever thought possible. She'd always held a bit of a crush for Elijah. But she also knew that Tamara was secretly holding a candle for him, too. It wouldn't be right of her to do or say anything that would hurt her cousin. But she couldn't help the warm feeling inside when he paid her a compliment.

"No more greasy jumpsuits for you, huh Meg? I definitely think this look suits you better."

"Thank you."

No more words were exchanged between them as they danced for what seemed like forever. But there was plenty of conversation going on in other parts of the room.

Tamara stood with a crushed and stubborn look on her face. Helo just shrugged, wondering what her problem was. Sharon shook her head and exchanged looks with Boomer, who was carefully watching every expression that crossed Galen Tyrol's face. They both rolled their eyes when he voiced what Karl had already been thinking.

"What's the big deal? It's just two kids, dancing."

Boomer winked at Sharon, and they spoke to their husbands, almost in unison.

"Don't you get it? Your daughter has fallen in love with the young lieutenant."

Helo spit out his punch in a long spray as Tamara humphed and crossed her arms even tighter. Tyrol swore under his breath. Both Sharons laughed at the site before them, while Sharon Agathon put a supportive arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Love is a wonderful thing, dear. And sometimes, it just takes a rockier road than you expect."

Elijah was going to lean down and sneak a small kiss, when the alarms started blaring, quickly followed by Lieutenant Meyers' voice overhead.

"Action stations, action stations. Set condition one throughout the ship. Colonel Adama, report to CIC immediately. Action stations, action stations. Set condition one throughout the ship. Colonel Adama, report to CIC immediately."

A flurry of activity began, followed by an explosion that nearly knocked Elijah and the others off their feet. He barely held onto her outstretched hand as she removed her heels to make it easier to run to the pilots' locker. Megan cursed as Eli swore aloud.

"Frak. Well, I guess that means this is not a drill!"

As they bounded down the hallway, another announcement commenced.

"Attention all hands, the Galactica has been boarded. Attention all hands, please be advised, the Galactica has been boarded."

They barely made it to the locker room when another explosion rocked the ship. He quickly grabbed his sidearm and a few extra clips from the top shelf.

"Megan, stay out of site if you can. Take the ductwork to the hangar deck. You're small enough to make it through there without being seen. And for God's sake, be careful!"

Eli left her changing into her flight suit. She hoped that he would be okay as she climbed into the nearest air duct.

The corridors outside of the officer's quarters were already dark. But he had always been able to see better in the dark than other people. Maybe it was because he had never seen real sunlight in his life. He was used to the dimly lit halls, seeing how many times he had wandered around at all hours of the night.

He heard a commotion coming from around the next corner. Starbuck was up against a wall, cornered by a tall, blonde woman dressed all in black. He quietly snuck up to where he could hear what she was saying.

"You again! How many of you Frakking machines do I have to kill to wipe you out of this gods forsaken Universe?"

The blonde let go a low, mocking laugh. When she spoke, it was in a voice that he wholly recognized.

"Oh, Starbuck. Haven't you learned? You can't get rid of us. We're everywhere."

Kara had already lost patience with the Cylon. And she would be lying if she didn't admit, at least to herself, that a growing sense of fear was beginning to take hold inside of her.

"What the frak are you here for? What do you want?"

Six smiled a menacingly poisonous grin. She knew that Kara Thrace was afraid of her. She could smell the fear coming out of the pilot's every pore.

"We came for what we always wanted. The first child was lost. The second, taken too soon. We came for the third, and God's will shall not be denied."

The Cylon began to take steps toward her, ready to fight. But Kara had no where to go. She was backed up against a wall. Eli wasn't going to wait any longer.

"Get away from my mother!"

He held his weapon steadily aimed toward the Cylon's head. But his determination didn't stop the small shock to his system he got when he saw Six's face, smiling just like Rebecca's. Only Rebecca's smile had been a gentle one, never meant for any kind of harm. The smile on this woman's face was evil and calculating.

"The prodigal son has returned home. Oh yes…two for the price of one. That traitor kept you not only from being discovered by us, but by the humans, too. But it will be time to go soon…right after we've collected your little sister."

"Frak you, you Cylon bitch."

He didn't see the other two copies of Six who had come up behind him. It left him wide open to attack from both sides. Before he could even pull the trigger, he heard the report of another firearm, as the Cylon in front of him doubled over, clutching at her stomach. As she pulled her hand away, it was tinged red with her own blood.

"Stay the frak away from my son."

Lee Adama had a look of pure hatred on his face. There was still smoke rising from his sidearm, as he caught site of the other ones behind Elijah. Kara screamed.

"Elijah, look out!"

Before he could blink, Lee watched his own son take down two Cylons at once; snapping one's neck and sending the other flying up against the opposing wall with a kick with such force behind it that she was knocked instantly unconscious.

He took only a second to breathe before speaking to his father.

"Lydia."

The Adama family, however oddly reunited, moved as one to save Elijah's three year-old little sister, who was being babysat by her uncle HotDog…somewhere down near the brig.

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	49. Not the One

"When exactly did you know?"

Kara was panting furiously as she took their daughter from her father's arms. She thought her heart was going to burst from her chest.

"I still don't."

Lee brought his sidearm up once again, putting it flush against Lieutenant Elijah Taylor's forehead. His demeanor was calm, but Kara, Eli, and even HotDog could feel the anger emanating from him. Kara was frantic; she had to stop him before he did something stupid. Setting Lydia down for a second, she jumped up and put her hands on both of his arms to try to force him to put down his weapon.

"Lee, no!"

He spat the words out between gritted teeth. Costanza picked up Lydia, who was trembling with fear at her father's actions.

"Give me one good reason Kara! Don't you think it's a little suspicious, this kid showing up on our ship, telling us after he's been here for three years that he's our son? If he was really our son, wouldn't he have told us the second he was here? Huh Kara?"

She looked up into Elijah's face. There was no fear there. He understood why his father felt this way. And he knew that the only people who could have proven him right were now dead. His shoulders slumped. There was nothing he could say in his own defense.

Kara saw this, and knew somewhere deep inside; she couldn't give a good reason either. There was just this gut feeling she couldn't deny.

"Um, guys, I hate to interrupt you…but…we-we've got company."

HotDog's voice was trembling. In the reflection of Eli's eyes, Kara saw what had frightened Costanza. Behind them, some more of the intruders that had boarded them had found them. But she would die before she would let them take either one of her children.

One of the Six copies, the one in front of the others, crossed her arms in front of her and smiled. She spoke in a gentle, mocking voice, while the others moved to surround them.

"Oh, look at the lovely little family. You can't win this one, Starbuck. There are more of us than there are of you."

From the rear came the Cylon that Kara knew as Leoben. He came in quietly with a little smile on his lips, saying nothing. As he nodded, the first Six moved toward HotDog, who still had Lydia in his arms. Lee moved his weapon from Elijah's head and pointed it directly at her.

"Go ahead, Apollo. You'll have enough time to get off one round at me, and maybe take out another few. But you'll be dead before you can get us all. Give us the girl and no one gets hurt."

Kara knew the Cylon was right. But she didn't want to lose another child. Eli, meanwhile, had moved up to Lee's side. He spoke in a low and surprisingly calm voice.

"It's okay. Nothing will happen to her."

Lee looked at the kid, noticing for once how much he looked like him. Maybe he was his son, or at least a damned good replica of him. But he was wondering why the frak that Taylor was telling him to give up his only daughter.

"Why the frak should we do that?"

Eli nodded toward Leoben as Lee hissed the words, trying not to be too loud. He didn't know how or why he knew it, but he knew that they would let her go.

"Just trust me."

Once again, Lee dealt with the fear that he'd felt, finding out that his only son had been missing. He didn't fathom why he should trust this kid, but he found himself wanting to with every passing minute. His thoughts were interrupted by Six's voice, which had become a little shriller.

"Give us the child!"

"Costanza, go ahead. Hand her over."

Kara's mouth dropped open. She could not believe that Lee Adama just said that. She looked between Taylor and her lover again, and wondered what had just passed between them. Elijah nodded at Kara, who then nodded her acceptance to HotDog. The poor Lieutenant wouldn't let the girl go. Kara let go her best Starbuck voice.

"Lieutenant, that's an order. And if you don't comply, you'll find out what it's like to be an ensign again. Don't make me think that you're even more of a screw-up than I was."

HotDog gulped, nodding, and passed the little girl over to the Cylons. His hands trembled as he let his goddaughter go.

Six held the girl slightly elevated above her. She was looking at Lydia curiously, turning her around…almost like she was inspecting her. She passed the girl over to Leoben, who had been waiting patiently. He began to smile even more. It was a reaction completely contrary to what the female Cylon then said.

"She's not the one! God will be very angry with us…she is not the one!"

Leoben laughed and tickled Lydia in the stomach. He smiled and put her back down on the floor, pushing her back in the direction of Kara and her family.

"Go back to your mother, child."

Tentatively, Lydia began walking to her mommy, who swept her up quickly into grateful arms. Starbuck looked curiously at Leoben, understanding that he would not always be her enemy. Life couldn't be that easy for her. Leoben then turned and looked at Six, who, seething with anger, reached up to strike the little girl. He caught her hand in an iron grip as it fell.

"NO! She is not the one! And you will not harm an innocent. It is not God's plan."

Six began to turn, ready to hurt her counterpart. Before she could finish the turn, the Leoben copy snapped her pretty little Cylon neck. The other copies, experiencing true fear for the first time in their lives, backed off. An unspoken order moved between them, and they left the room, empty-handed.

Before exiting the room, Leoben turned and looked at Kara, who could not believe what was happening before her very eyes. He had just saved them. A frakking Cylon had just saved her family.

"She is not the one we were looking for, Kara Thrace. But we will be watching."

And with a smile, he left the room. Trembling, Kara held onto her daughter for dear life, realizing the gods had just given her a break. HotDog fell into the nearest chair, clearly traumatized. Elijah stood calmly, waiting to see what they would do next, while Lee threw his hands up in the air as he exclaimed.

"What the frak is going on here!"

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For the fourth time, Eli found himself answering the same round of questions from Colonel Adama. And each time he had answered the same.

"Who are you?"

"Lieutenant Elijah Taylor."

"What are you?"

"A human being, sir."

"What is your purpose here?"

"To defend the fleet, sir."

"What is your real purpose here?"

"To defend the fleet, sir."

Lee was frustrated. The kid never faltered. But he just couldn't be telling the truth. Or could he? Suddenly, he had a wild idea. He nodded in the direction of the nearest marine guard they had stationed outside the brig while he was questioning his prisoner.

"Marine, go and bring the doctor."

"Sir, yes sir."

He paced back and forth in front of Elijah, half expecting him to jump up and attack him. But no such attack ever came. It took several minutes for the ship's doctor to come, in which time Lee was beginning to resemble a caged tiger.

"What do you need, Colonel?"

Doctor Agathon did not look surprised in the least she had been called to the brig. She'd heard about what had happened from Kara. She was only surprised that it had taken Lee this long.

"I need you to examine him, Lieutenant. I need you to tell me if he is a Cylon…or not."

Sharon walked around to where Elijah was sitting, patiently trying to comply with the Colonel's questions and orders. She smiled as she stood in front of him.

"Don't worry Lieutenant. I won't hurt you. Could you stand up for a moment? I need to look at your face and your arms."

Eli stood there, looking at Tamara's mom. He knew from Megan that she was a Cylon; that she wasn't a twin to Megan's mother like she had said when he'd met them three years before. But he wondered why it was that she was the one doing the inspecting.

Sharon lifted his arms, pushing back the sleeves of his uniform shirt. Her mouth pursed as she examined his wrists, then she turned them over, looking at his hands. She moved to look at his face, but as he was visibly taller, she had to make an adjustment.

"I'm sorry, would you mind bending down a little?"

For quite a few minutes, Sharon looked deep into the youth's eyes. She then asked him a couple of questions.

"Who are you?"

Not again. I'm so tired of this already. But he obliged, answering the questions again.

"Lieutenant Elijah Taylor."

"What is your purpose here?"

"To defend the fleet."

"Are you in fact Kara Thrace and Lee Adama's only son?"

Without flinching, Elijah answered her, while she was still looking deep into those liquid blue eyes.

"Yes."

Satisfied, Sharon nodded.

"You may sit down, Lieutenant Taylor."

Lee looked at Sharon, wondering what it was that she was thinking. Mrs. Agathon had become the ship's doctor due to the extensive database of human anatomy that once upon a time had been uploaded into her Cylon brain. She was the best damned doctor he had ever seen, and he had often pondered why Boomer had become a pilot in the first place.

"Well?"

Sharon shook her head. There was nothing more that she needed to see.

"He's human. He's not a Cylon. There's no wetware present, no automatic programming responses. He's also most definitely your son."

Confused, Lee blinked a few times before asking her another question. He knew that Sharon could not lie to him, but there were just too many missing pieces.

"But if he's my son, Sharon…where has he been for sixteen years?"

She smiled, waving goodbye to Eli, who had just sat down again. Sharon turned to Lee, knowing that the next couple of days would probably be rough for him. It wasn't everyday that you held a gun to your long lost son and almost pulled the trigger.

"I don't know, but I suggest that you ask him yourself. I think you've got a lot of catching up to do."

Lee felt helpless as he watched her walk out of the room. _Now what am I going to do? Kara is going to kill me. I almost killed our son._

**_Ztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztztzt_**

They were back in the XO's quarters, but Lee still had a thousand and one questions for his son. _My son._ He had resigned himself to the fact. There was no denying it. And then he began to ask himself why, in the name of the Lords of Kobol, would he even want to deny his own flesh and blood? But he had to have answers to those questions that were eating him up inside.

Kara sat on the couch, while she watched Elijah play with his little sister. _His little sister_. The unspoken thought brought tears to her eyes and a smile to her lips. She had often thought that the young lieutenant would make a great son. He had her spirit, and his father's gentleness. She, too, wanted to ask so many questions. But she still reveled in the fact that the gods had returned him to her, after so long.

Eli felt their stares upon him. There was an unspoken tension present in the room. He could feel it in every pore. But he was enjoying the fact that the little girl in front of him held no fear of him. She was showing him the little metal figurines that her 'uncle' Galen had made for her. He smiled at the thought that Meg's father would be so meticulous in making such a tiny little thing. But he frowned again, knowing that his parents still wanted answers. And so he would try to give them all the ones that he could.

Turning to face his mother first, he took her hand in his. She smiled, patting him on his head. It was something that you would do to a small child; not a grown man. But then again, he hadn't been around her as a child, so it was one favor he could allow.

"Mother…I'm sorry I didn't let you know when I first came. I only knew that the time wasn't right. Not for you, not for me…not for anybody."

She sighed, and Lee came and sat down beside her. Eli knew that his father would probably voice more of his questions than his mother would hers. That was just his father's way. Lee began at once.

"Eli…Chris…. Sorry. I have to keep remembering that this is real."

Chuckling, he understood the confusion that his father felt. It was tough for him when he understood that Rebecca and Gaius had not been his real parents…but they had never released the fact that he had ever had a different name.

"It's okay, Dad. You can call me Chris. I never really liked Elijah, anyway. I mean, I believe in God and everything, but Elijah just always seemed a little too religious-sounding."

Lee's classic Adama eyebrow cocked up at the sound of his son using the word God, singular. _So he doesn't believe in the gods. This is going to be interesting_. He lost the thought as he began his question again.

"Christopher…where have you been for the first sixteen years of your life? Why did you just come back now?"

It was a perfectly good question. He knew it would hurt his parents to know that he had been amongst them, this whole time. They would feel like they hadn't searched hard enough; like maybe they had given up too soon. But he would reassure them that it wasn't their fault.

"I've been living on the Rising Star."

Kara's mouth dropped open with an audible gasp. She and Lee made the connection almost instantaneously. Three years ago was when the security on the Rising Star had found Gina and Doctor Gaius Baltar. It was also the first time that they had seen Christopher onboard Galactica. He answered as if he'd known exactly what the two were thinking.

"I told you once, Mom, that my adoptive parents were dead. That was true. How, or why, they abducted me, I don't know. I had a pretty good childhood. No abuse. I was always fed, clothed, educated well. The only thing I wasn't allowed to do was go outside. I could never leave that ship. I think it's why I like to fly…why I like being a pilot so much."

Lee chuckled at the statement. He rolled his eyes and looked blatantly over at Kara.

"No, son. I think that's your mother's fault."

She punched him in the shoulder and protested.

"It's just as much your fault! It's in your genes, too."

The playfulness between them warmed him on the inside. He thought of how Rebecca and Gaius had been like that in the beginning…when he was very young. But as he grew older, he saw how lonely that Rebecca had become. Gaius Baltar had stopped coming to see them, except on the weekends; and he knew that it had torn her heart out. He must have had a sad look on his face, because his dad reached out and touched his shoulder, speaking with concern in his voice.

"Son, are you okay?"

Chris nodded, smiling.

"Yes. I'm okay. I-I was just remembering. Rebecca…that was the name she went by…. Rebecca loved me, I think. She was trying to protect me. Before she died, she told me that it had been her mission to take me to her people…but that she couldn't go through with it. But she also didn't bring me back; and why, I don't know…."

Kara leaned over and touched her son as well.

"I think it may have something to do with what that blonde copy said to us before your father toasted her. No pun intended. Come on. I think it's time we had a good meal of military rations…or at least go and try to find what's left of the snacks from the dance."

With a twinkle in her eyes, she picked up Lydia and handed her to Lee. She knew that there were many things still left unsaid, but they would have to wait for another day. She had been patient enough for this long for her son to return. She thought they could wait a little bit longer to find out why.

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**_And just as Starbuck and family will have to wait a little longer, so will you, folks. Happy Holidays to all peoples of all races, creeds and religions. It's that time of year again, so be thankful for all things you have received; even the little ones. The story will have some new parts next week._**

_**The little purple button at the bottom of the page is still very appreciative when you press it and type a few words…and so is the author. Thanks!**_


	50. Welcome Home

His head was buzzing. He could feel the stares and hear the whispers of the crew as he walked down the hallway. _Adama's son. Thrace's kid._ He knew they didn't mean to be rude, but it was becoming taxing with every step.

"Hey, you became the new celebrity of the Galactica overnight. Hmm?"

Chris looked to his side and saw Tamara smiling at him, egging him on to say something to the contrary. But it wasn't in him. He didn't feel like putting forth the effort. Not to mention that being around Tam was becoming uncomfortable the past couple of days. They would always end up bickering about something, and she would walk off in a huff…leaving him desperately wondering what he had done wrong to anger his best friend.

"Hello Tam. How are you today?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_Here we go again! Can't even ask her how she's doing_? He quickened his pace again. Chris had to get to the XO's quarters in less than two minutes to be briefed for an off-ship excursion.

"Sorry Tam, I've got somewhere to be."

"Oh yeah…tell my cousin hello for me, then. She hasn't talked to me since the dance, I hope you know!"

Tamara turned around in a huff, cursing under her breath about insensitive and stupid men.

"What the frak was that supposed to mean?"

What she didn't know is that Chris hadn't spoken to Megan, either. Since the Cylon attack, Master Chief Galen Tyrol had been giving him all kinds of looks that entailed fatherly notions of shooting a young man. And he really hadn't done anything to deserve it. Megan only spoke if she had to because of regulations or if they were flying CAP together…which had only happened once. He suspected that Helo had been behind that one, too.

He knocked on the door to his parents' quarters, and was greeted by his adorable little sister.

" 'Lo brudda."

She pulled on his pant leg to get him to pick her up. When he did, she went about messing up his carefully combed hair.

"Better."

Kara laughed as she witnessed the exchange between her children. It was hard to believe that they were all back together, as a family. It had been a dream she'd never thought possible.

Chris pulled a small journal from behind his back. It was something that Rebecca had given him long ago, to give him some answers. He assumed she had given it to him so that he wouldn't hate her as much when she was gone. And now he was going to give it to his parents, to satisfy their need to have their questions answered. He was pretty sure the journal would cover all of them.

"Mom…for you and Dad. You know…to read when you get the chance. Just about everything you ever wanted to know about the first sixteen years of my life are in there. Maybe it will help you understand things a little better."

Kara fingered the blue velvet that covered the binding. It was torn in a few places, but as she opened the cover, she could tell that it had been treated with love. It was only worn from where the owner had put in many subsequent entries.

"Thank you, Chris. Your father will be here in just a minute. Have a seat."

Several minutes passed before Colonel Adama came bursting through the door. He was out of breath, even though he'd carefully worked to keep his stunning physique over the past twenty years.

"Come on you guys…yes…all of you. We've got a Raptor to catch."

They boarded the Raptor, which was headed for the Geminon Traveler. Chris knew that the former President Laura Roslyn was living there now. She was almost in her seventies, and had decided it was time for a quiet, non-political life.

"Is everyone aboard, sir?"

Chris was surprised to see that Major Agathon would be in charge of their flight for today. It had been a long time since he'd seen the man outside of a Viper. And he didn't miss the cool look that was passed over him as Helo looked in the Lieutenant's direction. Chris made sure he nodded back, and then looked away to the ECO's station.

"Okay then. Let's go."

The ride was extremely short, for which they were all thankful. Lydia barely contained herself as the hatch opened into the waiting transport ship's hangar bay.

"Grandpa!"

She jumped into the waiting arms of Admiral William Adama…who had kept the rank and title of the office, but was really just a superficial advisor at this point in his career. There wasn't much that Commander Parrish and his son the Colonel couldn't handle without him anyway.

Kara took Christopher by the arm, and led him down the ramp to meet his grandfather, for the second time in his young life.

"Dad…this is your grandson."

Bill Adama did something he hadn't done in a long time. He cried. Reaching out and taking his grandson into his arms, he sobbed, releasing a lifetime of tension and worry and grief that he no longer had need for. Chris returned the embrace, though he was a little concerned the Old Man might physically hurt himself with so many tears.

It took a few minutes before he calmed his sobs, as he had made all of them begin crying, too. Little Lydia broke the moment with her childlike questioning.

"What's the big deal?"

They all began laughing, and Adama gave Christopher one more bear hug before letting him go.

"Welcome home."


	51. Frustration

"Frak!"

She heard clanging coming from underneath the Viper. The wrench that belonged to the epithet's owner came flying out, too. Peeking under the wing, she saw her cousin, desperately trying to fix a fuel leak. But the wrench couldn't help when the gasket was covered with liquid.

"Hey Tam, you need some help?"

Tamara looked up at her cousin with contempt. _Just because she's the Chief's daughter, she thinks she can do better than me?_ She didn't voice the opinion, but her movements conveyed the thought for her.

"Yeah…sure…give it a try, genius!"

Megan crawled into the spot that Tam had just rolled out of. She grabbed a spare rag, put it around the gasket, then the wrench around that. A few twists of the wrist and bingo! The gasket fell away.

"Shut off the valve manually and hand me a new piece of tubing."

Tamara swore under her breath, but did exactly what her younger cousin said. Within two minutes, the job was done.

"See? Piece of cake."

Meg came up happily, but she didn't like the look on Tam's face, or the fact that she was standing angrily with her arms crossed. _I just did her a favor_.

"Well, you don't need to go doing me any more favors, Ensign. I would have gotten it after a few more tries."

"That's it!"

She threw down the rag and wrench, and then got directly up in Tamara's face. Tam had never seen her this angry before. And her cousin's exclamation had begun to bring a crowd.

"Tamara, I am so tired of this crap. Get that damned stick out of your ass. The only time you are happy anymore is when you're out there blowing away toasters, so I guess it's a good thing that we're getting attacked more! Don't you think?"

Tamara stood there, stammering. Megan barely spoke to her, or anybody else for that matter, half of the time. She usually kept her mouth shut and did her job. That was one of the things everybody liked about her…and they all said that she reminded them of her father Galen because of it.

"Frak this."

Megan physically moved Tamara out of her way, but stopped before reaching the hallway to turn around and yell one more time.

"And by the way, the next time you've got a problem with your Viper, don't let me stand in the way of you continuing to frak up the job!"

Amidst whistles and gasps, the deck crew and other pilots quickly made themselves busy. They were all afraid that Meg's anger would pass to Tamara, and then they'd all be in trouble.

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Megan could feel the heat rising in her. She was so angry. I never get mad. What the frak is wrong with me? She was so ill that she couldn't see straight. She almost ran smack into Christopher's chest as he was coming down the corridor.

"Hey, hey…you all right?"

He looked down at her, seeing the tears that were threatening to fall. Quickly, Chris steered her into the nearest open hatch, which happened to be a storage closet. He sat her down on an upturned mop bucket, and then lowered himself to look at her again.

"Megan…I asked you if you were okay."

The dam opened. All of her frustration with the day came out in a flow of tears. Her dad had said he was retiring, and asked her to be the first commissioned officer in charge of the deck. But all she wanted to do was be a Viper pilot! Then she stops to help her cousin, and all she did was be a bitch in return.

"I-I'm f-fine."

She said it in between sobs. They were quiet, but still sobs. Christopher put his arm around her, gently telling her to calm down…that everything would be all right.

The door opened, flooding the room with light. It was Lieutenant Meyers from CIC. What he had come looking for, Christopher didn't know. But he didn't look happy, finding them sitting there.

"Hey, you two, get out of there! If you want to find a good place to make out, get a day pass off the ship! I've opened enough gods' damned lockers and closets finding officers like you that shouldn't be fraternizing together…."

Neither one of them heard another word that he said. They were both laughing too hard.

As he left her at her father's office after walking her back, she looked up at Christopher Zachary Adama and realized that she really was looking at a different person than just plain old Elijah Taylor. He had changed. She had changed. Neither one of them really realized how much.

Christopher went to sleep in his rack that night with a humongous smile lighting his face.

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"Mom, do you know what's wrong with Tam?"

Sharon lifted her head and smiled knowingly. She had been waiting for this talk to come. Galen grunted and saw this as his moment to go and find some work to do. He bent over and kissed his partner lightly on the lips.

"Sorry I won't be around to discuss, but I've got to fix Major Agathon's ride before he starts whining to the Colonel about it. See you around dinner time."

Mother and daughter looked at each other and laughed aloud. They both knew he hated to sit and listen to girl talk. In fact, they had used it on occasion to get rid of him so they could have an actual private conversation. As the door closed behind him, Megan began to speak.

"So, mom…?"

Boomer took her daughter's hand, her smile turning slightly upside down. It wasn't exactly a frown, but it definitely wasn't a smile, either.

"Megan…your cousin…. She's in love with Christopher Adama. Just like you are."

Megan's water sputtered from her mouth to dampen the surface of the table in front of her. She scrambled to wipe it up before her mother yelled at her.

"But mom, how do you…? How do you know that?"

Sharon chuckled. Even she found it funny how readable the two were. It was almost like they were siblings, and not cousins.

"Honey, did you forget the look on your face about six weeks ago, when you were dancing with Mr. Handsome in the mess hall?"

As her thoughts drifted back to remembering the sensation of his arms around her, twirling as they danced, her facial expression became dreamy. It took her away for a minute before she came crashing back down to reality.

"But mom, Tam doesn't love him. If she did, she would have told me already?"

She looked up to see her mother shaking her head back and forth. Maybe her mom was right. It certainly explained the behavior that Tam had been exhibiting every time she was around.

"But she's my cousin! How could she keep treating me like such an…. Sorry mom."

In the Tyrol household, cursing was allowed when referring to anyone and anything outside of family. Sharon took her daughter's hand in hers, lightly caressing the surface of her palm.

"It'll pass, honey. And if you really do love him, everything will turn out fine. Just look at your dad and I. Believe me, if we can do it, anyone can do it."

Mother and daughter burst out giggling at the thought of the double entendre.

"Ew, mom!"

If there was one thing that Megan Tyrol did not want to think about, it was her mother and father having sex.

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18:00 hours. Galen Tyrol looked at the clock and saluted the last officer that boarded a Viper. It was his little girl, and he was damned proud. As the rest of the knuckledraggers closed the tube doors, he put up the last of his paperwork and headed for his semblance of home.

When he entered the tiny apartment that was the Tyrol family home, he found it to be dark; no dinner in sight. Curious, he made his way to the bedroom, only to find his wife already curled up in bed.

"Honey, what's for dinner tonight?"

Sharon smiled and shrugged as she pulled up the covers to allow him to slide under. She closed her eyes as she felt him snuggle up behind her, cupping her body with his. He answered himself in a low voice.

"So this is what's for dinner tonight?"

Chuckling, she nodded. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist as he began nuzzling her neck.

"No disgusting military rations for me, then. I guess I won't be going hungry then."

He reached up to turn off the light above the small bed, as she shook her head and laughed aloud.

"Not for food, you won't."

Galen's breath drew in sharply as she began touching him in all the right places, while in his mind he was praying desperately. _I hope Meg stays on CAP all night long_.

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	52. Changes

"Frak! It won't come loose!"

"Why Lieutenant Agathon, I had no idea…."

If anyone had come up behind them, they would have thought that Tamara was fiddling with HotDog's pants. They would be right…in a way.

Tamara had noticed when they were in formation that morning, preparing for a visit from the New President, that the fly on Lieutenant Costanza's only pair of clean pants was open. And when she'd told him about it, they'd discovered that it wouldn't budge. He'd followed her into her uncle Tyrol's old still to find something to pull it up again.

"Why Costanza, I didn't know you were so smart! Now I have an idea why you're still a Lieutenant. All that fancy flying done for nothing, huh?"

She chuckled as she pulled the pliers upward again. They both laughed even harder when he grunted in response. She almost had it up when they heard a voice from behind.

"Excuse me…are you two almost finished, or do you need me to book you a room?"

As she whipped around, Tam struck HotDog in the wrong place with the pliers, causing him to double over in pain and the owner of the voice to double over in laughter. She watched as Starbuck pulled herself up out of her laugh.

"Well, I guess that's one pilot I don't have to worry about making babies anytime soon."

The color was rising in her cheeks pretty fast. Truth be told, Tam had a crush on HotDog since she was twelve. He was the only screw-up on the Galactica bigger than Starbuck, and she'd always found it kind of endearing.

"All right you two. HotDog, Jailbait has an extra set of trousers I'm sure she'll let you use today. I think she's about your size. See if you can crawl down to quarters, huh? Domino, you come with me; your dad is on CAP and we've got a few things to discuss before he gets back."

Tamara nodded, wondering what kind of trouble she'd gotten into now. Ever since she'd realized she was in love with Gecko, everything in her life had seemed to go wrong. She was estranged from her cousin Meg, who up until then had been her best friend in what was left of the Universe. And she'd been screwing up maneuvers left and right.

She sat down quietly in the chair on the opposite side of the desk where Starbuck had led them. It was covered with stacks of papers and half-empty cups of who knew what. They had obviously been there a little while, as a few of them were starting to grow things. It was glaringly apparent that although Kara Thrace was a mother, she still hadn't learned some typically motherly things. Like cleaning.

"So, Tamara…I have a proposition for you. It's a change of scenery more than anything else."

Her brow furrowed as she looked at the young Lieutenant in front of her. Tam had been screwing up left and right, to the point where if she had been any other officer, she would have been demoted. But because she was Helo's daughter, and Helo and Starbuck went way back, she was giving the kid a chance to keep her rank…if not her regular job.

"There's a position coming open in CIC. One of the Lieutenants is mustering out at the end of the month. We need someone to take up her position, and there's the rest of the month to train that person."

"But Major, I'm a pilot. And I can't be a pilot if I'm stuck in CIC all the time."

There was a slight whine to her voice when the words came out. She hadn't meant for it to, but they came out sounding like they belonged to a petulant child.

"Agathon, this is your last chance. And that came straight from the CAG's mouth."

The CAG was her father. Her own father, trying to get her moved from rotation! _I can't believe it! _

"No way. My dad wouldn't get me moved. He knows that I live for being a pilot!"

Starbuck sighed. She'd known that Domino would react this way. There had been more than once that she'd been put in a different place, doing a different job. But she'd always been able to return to her love of flying. But Helo wasn't giving her any other choice. It was either move his daughter or she'd be dishonorably discharged from the fleet.

"You've got no choice…unless you want to be a civilian. Do you?"

Shaking her head, she couldn't believe what Kara had just said to her. All her life, she'd only wanted to be a pilot. Her dad had tried to stop her before, and now it looked like he was finally going to get his way. Tam's shoulders slumped when she realized she really **didn't** have any other choice.

"Good. Report to CIC at 19:00 hours tomorrow evening. You have the rest of the day off."

She held her arm up in a crisp salute. Visibly shaken, Tamara returned it.

"Dismissed, Lieutenant."

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Three hours later, Tamara Agathon found herself in the officer's lounge, drinking some of her uncle's famous moonshine. Absentmindedly, she fingered her cards, so old that they were falling apart, and thought about the day's events as her mind began to swim with each successive swig she took.

"Hey, Domino, it's your call."

She threw in two cubits, which was by now considered steep. With each generation, money had become more scarce. Goods were a better thing for bartering now. HotDog sat down to her right and Gecko to her left. She smiled at the former and gave the latter the best look of hate she could muster.

"Woo, somebody's touchy tonight."

HotDog started to deal the cards again. He could tell that young Miss Agathon was going to be far gone quite shortly. Maybe he could win more often that way.

Christopher noticed her mood, too. He knew that Tam could already be bitchy without the alcohol to throw fuel on the fire. Inwardly he cringed at the prospect of seeing her in a full-blown fit of anger.

For a few rounds everything was rather peaceful. Costanza managed to win the first two, Tamara the next one, and Gecko won the following three. Tamara paid no attention to how low her pile was becoming as she sunk further into her abyss of self-pity. Suddenly, she raised her head up sharply.

"Hey, where's Sneaker?"

HotDog's breath was heard aloud as T-Bone spoke.

"She's in the CAG's office. Some promotion or something. Looks like your cousin went and made Captain. Oops!"

For a second, nobody moved. They all knew that Tam had just been reassigned to the CIC. She had been bucking for a promotion for months before she started to falter. And now, the cousin she had begun to hate had taken over her coveted position as lead pilot.

"Frak….me!"

The card table itself and a few chairs went flying with her outburst of anger. She began bucking and kicking as Costanza picked her up and threw her over one shoulder, screaming obscenities as he calmly humped her out of the room.

"Nice going there, T-Bone."

The Lieutenant Junior Grade was furiously rubbing his arm where Christopher Adama had just punched him.

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By the time he'd gotten her back to the racks, Tamara's obscenities had turned to tears; and now laughter. She was lying there, giggling up at him as he tried to remove her pants and tuck her into bed like a good little girl. But she wasn't a good little girl anymore.

"Come here Costanza."

She pulled him down into a kiss, fueled by anger, alcohol, and a childhood crush. HotDog tried to pull away, a little voice telling him in the back of his mind that he was almost twice her age and that both her father and her godmother would kill him. He pushed away from her slightly, a curious look on her face before she laughed up and him and started pulling the curtain to her rack shut behind him.

At the same time as he spoke in a deep, husky voice, HotDog put his arm up to stop her as he noticed the movement.

"Frak you, Agathon."

She smiled, pulling him so close he could feel her sweet, alcohol-laced breath on his own lips.

"I'm a big girl, Costanza…and I fully intend for you to."

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	53. Bloody thing, love

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!_ She looked around her. _Yes_. She was still in her rack, even though there wasn't a lot of space for her to move. She started to turn over to her right and ran into a warm body lying there. Her head swam as she lay back down, a little too quickly.

"Ow!"

"Shh!"

HotDog looked down at the young woman he was still shielding from everyone's view. Tamara saw that he had somehow managed to put his pants and shirt back on, and was cradling her under his left arm. To anyone else who had seen them, it looked like he was just holding on to someone who wasn't all there yet, someone who was still drunk, like she was.

"Most of the pilots are tucked in their racks. I didn't want to leave until I knew you were feeling better. Your dad would kill me if I left you sitting there like this."

Funny, she'd never thought of Costanza as a gentleman. Or maybe it was the fear of retribution for fracking Helo's almost 21 year-old daughter that made him act this way. Somehow, still, she didn't think so. He'd surprised her that day.

Looking down at her, HotDog was seeing her in a whole new light. He'd always thought Tamara was gorgeous, taking after her mother the way she did. But he'd always seen her as Agathon's little girl. After what happened between them that afternoon, there was no way he was going to see her as anything less than a woman…whether she'd been drunk or not didn't matter to him. His cheeks started turning red as he was sure she could tell what he was thinking by the look on his face. _Little Domino's all grown up._

She nestled her head down a little more into that nook beneath his armpit, resting her cheek on his chest. It was more comfortable that she had imagined it would be. All her teenage years, she had heard about the spectacular things that HotDog could do in a cockpit, and all of the stupid things he did against regs that got him the rank of Lieutenant, what looked like for life. But those stories had earned him a reputation, and that reputation had given her one hell of a fantasy life.

They just sat there. And right as she thought she was going to fall asleep, he kissed her on the forehead and whispered in her left ear.

"Gotta go, princess. I have to fly on two CAPs today. At least I'll know who's listening up there in CIC tonight."

Costanza smiled at her, knowing she would be sad at the change of venue, but he felt better that she would be there. He slowly raised himself up off of the rack, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"See you."

Tamara watched him go, then slowly closed her eyes, wondering which way this turn of events would cause her already uncertain future to go.

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_**One short chapter always leads to another…. So how do you like where we're going so far? I need to know if you guys are confused on anything so I can clarify more. Purple button at the bottom, please. Or you can e-mail me if you have lengthy questions. Thanks again!**_


	54. Endless Questions

She'd finally caught up on all of her paperwork. _Kara Thrace, you are amazing sometimes._ She'd even managed to clean the dirt and grime off of it with a well-placed washcloth. _Damn, I'm good_.

The diary in front of her was something she had spent a long time avoiding. Her son had given it to her months ago…to help her understand the past. And she had long used the excuse that the past was the past. She wanted to live in the present because one never knew if you had a future or not.

But it was now time to buckle down and read the thing. Her excuses had run out.

For several hours, she poured over the little book's contents, noting the yellowing pages, and how it could be possible for a Cylon to treat something lovingly. Some of the excerpts caught her eye more than others, made her gasp…made her laugh…made her even cry.

It had never seemed possible that the particular model known as number Six could ever be capable of something as complex as love. But the woman known as Rebecca Taylor had. She had loved, stupidly, Dr. Gaius Baltar. And she had loved the little boy who had come into her life, brought to her by her god, to take care of and nourish with love, kindness and understanding.

"God brought me a little boy today, fulfilling part of Kara Thrace's destiny…."

_Part of? _She read on.

"Six years old. He wants to go to school like all the other little boys and girls, but I cannot let him do that. Gaius brings me copies of all the books and materials he'll ever need, but it still isn't enough. I don't know enough about human children to be able to gauge how the little guy should act."

_That explains a lot_. His curiosity and wonder at being on the Battlestar for the first time, almost four years ago.

"Elijah….meaning Lord is my God. What an appropriate name for us to have given him. It had been Gaius' idea, really. But it fits perfectly. He is curious about God, and the difference between what I have taught him and what the other colonists he has seen aboard this ship believe. I have told him that fools know no better. It's not their fault. They will all learn in the end."

Kara guffawed aloud at this. _Yeah, who is more the fool? The fool that is leading ahead or the fool that is following behind?_ She came to an entry made the day before Chris had come to Galactica again.

"It is time. Gaius will come tomorrow, and my happy life here on the Rising Star will end. I have learned much about human beings over the last sixteen years here. I wish that I could have offered him more, but I had to protect him. They have stopped searching for him, and whether or not he is the promised child matters no more to me. He is a wonderful adult, and I am confident now that he can take care of himself. Elijah will have to learn anything more now from his true parents. I am sorry for the pain they have suffered over the years, but I hope they know it was for his own good. Had he been left to grow aboard the Battlestar Galactica, They would have come for him long ago, and I fear by now that he would be dead…no more. Tomorrow, this will end."

There were no more entries beyond that point. The ending of the words written on the page were spattered about with tears that had dried on the surface, long ago.

But Kara Thrace, having thought this would bring all of her questions to a close, had been wrong. It had opened up so many more thoughts in her brain that she would never have the answers to. Unless she went and asked Sharon again. Maybe she would know.


	55. Q & A, A father's dilemma

_**Answers will come soon…. Enjoy the read!**_

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"He what!"

Helo whipped around and looked at Kat, who was still calmly looking down at the maintenance reports for the Raptors. She circled the few that she still had questions about, and then casually responded.

"Yep. Threw her over his shoulder and took her back to pilots' quarters. Jailbait says he didn't come out of her rack until sometime overnight."

"I'm gonna kill him!"

Kat laughed at the big Major. He still had some of the best hair out of all the pilots in the fleet…even though it was receding at the front temples. But he was still just a big kid in a soldier's body. She didn't know how Sharon did it.

"Agathon, I don't think there's any reason for that. I mean, kids younger than her run around frakking people all the time. I know I did."

Karl Agathon could not get the picture of Brendan Costanza in bed with his little girl. Kat shook her head. By the look on his face, she could tell exactly what he was thinking.

"Thanks a lot, Louanne. That was **not **what I needed to hear!"

"She's not a little girl anymore, Helo. You need to learn to start letting go of that perfect picture of your daughter the way she was ten, even five years ago. She's all grown up now. Why don't you go talk to your wife? I'm sure nothing happened, anyway."

He perked up at that. Maybe she was right. Maybe nothing had happened after all. But…he just couldn't shake that feeling.

"He's almost twice her age!"

Kat laughed again, slapping his chest with her clipboard.

"I'm done here, Raptor-man. Go on, go talk to your wife. I'm sure she'll help you clear things up with Tamara."

He shook his head again, repeating under his breath the five words he had just said.

_He's almost twice her age. He's almost twice her age. He's almost twice her age!_ And then aloud.

"I'm going to need a shrink."

Walking into the room, he could tell that his wife was already busy, counseling someone else. Kara Thrace was there, talking quietly. He nodded hello at the two, then grabbed his towel and headed off to take a shower. Maybe that would calm his nerves a bit.

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They stopped speaking as they waited for Helo to leave the room. Kara had already gotten a few answers. But there was so much that Sharon could not answer. She'd already told Major Thrace that she would be better off talking to her son. Without a connection to the other Cylons, Sharon could only really go on her opinions and gut feelings.

"But Sharon, what is this destiny that everyone has always talked about? I thought it was just that I was to bring the Arrow of Apollo back to the Tomb of Athena. But from her diary entry, I don't think this Rebecca meant that at all."

Sharon sighed. Before she had disconnected, she had tried to access everything she could about Cylon plans for the human race. She'd only gotten as far as their continued efforts to procreate, and how only the Sharon model was having any success.

"I'm not sure, Kara. I never could access that information. I'm sorry."

Leaning back into the armchair, Kara took another deep breath.

"What about my son, then? Why did she think she had to protect him? Not just from the Cylons, but from the fleet as well."

Doctor Agathon relaxed a little then.

"Well, I can only supposition that Rebecca thought that the humans would hurt him, or continue running tests on him. Especially if they ever found out about those."

She was pointing at Thrace's abdomen…at the two neat little scars that together formed a ninety degree angle. Kara herself reached under her tank and traced them lightly with her fingers. She'd always wondered what they'd done to her back on the Farm on Caprica. And she'd never really gotten an answer.

"What did they do to me, really?"

Closing her eyes, Sharon thought about all the possible answers for this. She knew that the Cylons had been trying to impregnate human women. _But it wasn't that. No_. Slowly she looked up at Kara, ready to tell her the dark thoughts that had crossed her mind more than once in the past twenty years.

"It is very possible, Kara, that they did something to you; something to modify you in some way. They ran tests on you. Did surgeries on you…and I don't think they were just because of your being shot. You said yourself that Doc Cottle admitted to helping them take your baby. Maybe he knew something that we don't. And I'm sorry, but I can't take the chance of connecting with the others. It's just too much of a risk."

Kara's head was pounding. She had come here searching for more answers, but only ended up with more questions.

"Thanks for the help Sharon."

"Nah. I didn't really do that much. But Kara…? Go talk to Christopher. He may know more than you think."

"I'll do that."

Slowly, she rose from the chair, seeing herself out of the apartment. She would ask him later, after dinner…when she knew that Lee would be in CIC for his third night shift in a row. _No reason to cause the kid to be more uncomfortable by asking him in front of his father._

She walked quietly down the corridor, trying her best to calm the nerves that were slowly beginning to eat away at her insides again.

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When he came back to the room, Kara was nowhere in sight. _Good. We can be alone now._ Problem was, he didn't see Sharon, either. As he got closer to the bedroom door, he could hear two female voices on the other side.

"I know you've got to be in CIC tonight. But think of it as a way to feel even closer to the crew, honey."

Sharon stroked her daughter's long, dark hair with the brush. It was one thing she could still do to remind her she was her daughter.

"But mom…."

Tamara sighed. She knew there was no reason to argue with her mother. It wasn't as if it was even her fault.

"I know…I know. I will still be able to hear everyone."

Sharon smiled a sly little smile. She knew that a certain someone was popping in and out of her daughter's thoughts. Sharon was older, but she still remembered being Tamara's age, and having that look on her face whenever she was thinking about Helo.

"How is HotDog these days?"

"Mom!"

Helo slowly cracked the door open.

"No, I want to hear this. Why don't you answer your mother, Tamara? Just how **is** Costanza these days? I hear he's **quite **the gentleman."

She twisted around to see her father in his serious stance…arms crossed, furrowed brow, and a look in his eyes that meant he could lean either way. He was either teasing, or he was going to murder someone. She cringed, feeling the heat creep up her neck to her ears, then her face. Tamara Agathon was twenty years old, but her father was still able to make her feel like she was only two. Quietly, she managed to squeak out a few words.

"Yeah. I guess he is."

Helo still wasn't sure what to think. By the look on his only child's face, there was more to the story that she **wasn't **telling. He looked over at Sharon, whose eyes were twinkling wickedly as the dimples in her cheeks grew deeper. He narrowed his eyes in realization.

"I'm going to kill him."

Tam jumped off the bed and grabbed her father's arm.

"Daddy, no!"

He turned around slowly and deliberately to look at her.

"Aha! So it's true then! So? Do you love him?"

She blinked…her mouth opening and closing like a fish. She smiled a little sheepishly before answering.

"I don't know Dad. I think it's a little too early to tell."

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Dad!"

Sharon was not making anything easier. Still sitting there on the edge of the bed, her smile had become wide and she was chuckling openly at her husband. It had begun to annoy him.

"So, what would you do, Sharon?"

"Let it go, Helo. Let it go. You can't change what happened any more than they can."

She looked appreciatively at her daughter, knowing that this might be just the thing that she needed.

"It's not like she has that much of a selection to go through, anyway. At least they're the same pay grade. Just let it go honey."

Karl Agathon looked questioningly down at his little girl, and when he did, the look in her puppy dog eyes melted his heart, and any thoughts of stringing Costanza up by his toenails…. For now, anyway. He took his daughter's chin into his fingers and looked sternly into her face.

"But just so you know…if he does anything, and I mean **anything** to hurt you…."

"I know Dad. You'll be the first to know. Then we can both shove him out of an airlock together."

Sharon's intake of breath said it all.

"Ooooh. Harsh!"

He knew it. He was outnumbered as the two females in his life burst into a fit of giggles, right there in front of him. _Oh well. At least I can still ride him on CAP_.

The thought brought a tiny, evil little smile to his lips.

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	56. Deja Vu

"So, HotDog, is Domino's bunk really softer than the rest of ours? Hee-hee-hee!"

The cackling coming from Merlin screeched through the comm-link straight into his earpiece. Feeling his blood pressure raising more than it should, Costanza prayed silently to the gods that he'd make it back in one piece. If for nothing else than so he could kick the crap out of the other, much younger pilot.

"Even if it was, I sure as frak wouldn't tell you. You'd probably go steal her sheets just 'because they're cleaner than yours are."

"Knock it off, you two. Bickering isn't going to get rid of those Cylons headed our way. Now remember…it's weapons free when they come up on us."

Helo listened carefully as Kat chewed out the other pilots. His fingers curled reflexively around his trigger, just waiting to hit the pad that would allow his guns to rip the enemy apart. Then his thoughts drifted toward Tamara, who was no doubt wishing she was out there with them, listening from CIC onboard Galactica.

Sure enough, Tamara was watching the Dradis console with a mixture of anticipation and regret. She knew exactly what would happen when the Cylons reached their pilots, and she regretted that she'd screwed up so much she couldn't be in her Viper, right alongside her fellow officers.

Down on the hangar deck, Tyrol and his crew were dealing with a few problems of their own already. Only one tube was functioning to get the alert fighters out to help the CAP. And without those extra guns, the two CAGs would be sitting ducks. But that was Sharon's husband out there, and he was going to make sure that those guys got all the help they could get.

"All right men, you know what to do! As soon as the tube door closes, I want you to push another one right up to it. It's the fastest way we can get them out of here, now move!"

Deckhands in worn out orange and yellow jumpsuits scrambled to undertake their Chief's orders. Pilots, temporarily stranded in their cockpits, were taking off their helmets so not as to fog up the glass.

Megan Tyrol ran up to her dad, ready to see what she could do to help.

"Dad, DAD! What can I do?"

Galen blinked at his daughter, having thought that they'd already pushed her out of the tube.

"Why aren't you flying today? Who was that in your Viper?"

"That was Jailbait. Her Viper is 252, remember? You grounded it last week."

Momentarily winded and confused, eyebrows drawn up tight, the Chief cursed under his breath at the same time he was thanking the gods that for once his daughter wasn't out there in harm's way. Chewing his bottom lip, he thought of the best place to put her.

"Okay, look. You know that they're going to be coming in fast and coming in hot. I need you to be ready near the mag lifts if there are any problems. Now you're the only one I trust besides Jammer, and I've got him and Cally up front trying to fix the other two tubes. Think you can do that for me?"

Megan gave her dad a sharp salute. She may have gotten promoted to a Captain, but her dad was still in charge of her when she stepped on his deck.

"Sir, yes sir. You can count on me."

"That's my girl."

He watched as she ran down the other side of the bay, heading for the lift. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many problems this shift. He just wanted them to get the fleet out and get back on the ship so they could jump out of there as soon as possible.

"All right people…Hawthorne, what the frak are you leaning up against that Raptor for? Move! Move! Move it mister!"

_I'm getting to old for this_.

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"Frak me. Galactica this is Helo, we've got two, I said two Basestars headed your way! We have multiple targets engaged. Recommend recalling the alert fighters and getting our asses back onboard as soon as possible."

Petty Officer Traynor's voice came across the speaker. She had the same calm, relaxing tone that belied the nervousness she was feeling. It had better. She had been trained by Dualla herself, a month before Dee died.

"Negative Major Agathon. The fleet is still jumping. All fighters are to continue to engage until you receive word that all civilian ships have jumped away."

A large chunk of shrapnel from the remains of what had been J.D.'s Viper slammed into Helo's canopy. He thanked the gods the thick glass was still holding.

"Frak! Galactica, I repeat, we need to begin landing or there won't be any Vipers left to land. Merlin, Kat, start heading back to the ship. HotDog and I will clean up these few and make our way right behind you."

Kat flipped over her Viper and watched Merlin do the same. T-Bone was already ahead of them, not even waiting for the order to go home. _Frakking coward_. She saw that his right engine was already blown, so it was probably good he'd be landing before them. That way he couldn't crash into them as they were getting out of their own ships.

"Galactica, this is Kat, we're heading home."

Right then, Lieutenant Brendan Costanza saw his life flash before his eyes. His weapon jammed. He couldn't shoot, and he had a raider heading straight for him. He began to pray.

"Woo-hoo! Got you covered, dog!"

"Adama, you frakking genius!"

From CIC, Starbuck and Apollo watched and listened as their son, much in the way that his mother had done for his father before then, guarded the other pilot, who now had a blown wing to add to his troubles.

"Gecko, you'd better head in…I'm toast out here."

"Frak that, HotDog…. We're gonna try something different."

And much in the same way, Christopher Adama jammed his Viper into the other ship, just as Kara Thrace had once done for his father Lee. He slammed on the throttle and barely made it into the pod before Galactica jumped.

"Whew! That was fun!"

Christopher jumped out of his cockpit, foregoing the customary ladder. But his happiness was short-lived. Costanza still hadn't made any effort to get out of his, or even push open his canopy for that matter.

"Hey, Costanza, you coming, or what?"

He moved the closest ladder up to the side of the ship, and peered in. HotDog was still alive, still there, but something had gone wrong. He was holding onto his left side, blood seeping from an open wound.

"Well, kiddo. Looks like you'd better find me a stretcher…now…."

Up in CIC, Starbuck smiled to herself at the fact that she didn't even have to give permission to Tamara to go to sickbay when she heard the call for a med team. The girl was already gone.

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	57. Waiting

"Hey there…everything okay?"

Helo's soft voice ended on an up note, conveying the hope he had inside that everything, indeed, would be okay. Squeezing his daughter's shoulder, he smiled as his wife came in to check on her patient.

If anything, Sharon was a physician who was completely clinical in her approach. She would tell it like it is, without the accompanying sarcasm that Doc Cottle had been so famous for.

"I'll probably pull his tube today. Looks like his lung is fully healed. There's no reason he can't start breathing on his own."

Looking down, she ruffled her daughter's silky hair, wondering when was the last time she'd seen Tamara look so young. It had been four days since Costanza had been carried into her operating suite by Lieutenant Adama. For the entire time he'd been on the recovery bed, Tamara had not left his side.

"How about you, young lady? Have you gone to get something to eat…take a shower?"

Tamara shook her head. She'd been waiting patiently for Brendan to wake up.

Helo kissed his wife as she began to move on to some of her other patients. He turned to his little girl, who for the first time he'd seen as a beautiful grown up young woman.

"And now, you will go take a shower, and you will go get something to eat. I'll stay here with HotDog until you get back. It's not just your old man talking to you. It's also coming from your superior officer. Now get. That's an order."

Tamara plastered a smile she did not feel upon her lips for her father's benefit. She kept it on as she walked down the corridor – all through her shower – as she ate in the mess hall. The effort it took was beginning to make her face ache.

On the way back from the mess, Tam decided to stop by the officers' quarters to grab a book from her rack. Maybe Costanza hadn't woken, but she could at least pass the time reading to him. The silence was killing her back in sick bay. _What the…?_

The sound of laughter reached her ears. _Last rack on the right_. She instantly knew who it was coming from, before she ever heard their voices.

"Hey-hey, no Chris. Nooo. Stop that! Cut it out…. Frak! Chris!"

"Don't let me interrupt you."

Tamara regretted the words before they even left her mouth. She cursed inwardly as the heads of both her cousin and Chris Adama popped out from behind the curtain.

"Hey Tam, what's up?"

"Nothing."

Her voice sounded deflated as she grabbed her book and left the room without another word. Megan pulled herself upright and sat on the edge of the bunk, watching her cousin walk away. She looked back at Christopher, who pulled up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Maybe I should go after her…make sure she's okay."

She leaned back in his arms, feeling safe and warm. All she hoped was that her cousin could one day feel that way, too. It wasn't her fault that she and Chris had fallen for each other. God had a funny way sometimes. Christopher hugged her again, nuzzling the lobe of her ear.

"No. She'll be fine. Haven't you noticed she's been off-duty? Mom says she hasn't left HotDog's side since his surgery. I think she's already found her match."

"Scary that sometimes you seem to know exactly what I'm thinking…. So, what are we going to do this weekend? You and I both have off, I figured maybe we…."

"Could go to Cloud Nine?"

Megan laughed as she looked at the two tickets that he held in his hand. Apparently he'd been planning this one for a while. Cloud Nine was still the best ship to go on leave, and you had to have connections nowadays to even get a room for an hour, much less two days.

"How did you manage that one? No…never mind, I don't think I want to know. And I'm warning you way ahead of time, I won't give in that easily, Adama. It's going to take some serious effort on your part before I let you see me with my pants off."

Making a face of mock seriousness, he drew in a deep breath before answering.

"How could you think I wanted anything like that? I just think we need to get away for a little while…just us, together. You wouldn't want to get undressed for me, would you?"

She smacked him on the shoulder and pushed him away as she jumped off the rack. The door to her locker popped open and she pulled out her flight suit.

"I've got CAP in twenty minutes. You see me get undressed all the time. Or is that someone else you see every time I have to go take a shower in the head?"

"You know what I mean, Meg."

His voice came out soft and deep. He was now being completely serious. They'd been dating for almost six months, if you could call it dating. And now that she'd been promoted, the only real time they were ever going to get alone together is if they went off ship. Because where Admiral Adama had not, Commander Parrish frowned on relationships between officers who weren't of the same rank, unless they were married. Kissing and hugging and playing around were as far as he and Megan had gotten.

"We'll see, Chris. We'll see."

She bent down and gave him a long, soft kiss, seeing the look of longing in his blue eyes.   
She wasn't sure, herself, how much longer she could wait.

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The sounds of their laughter reverberated inside of her mind all the way back to the sick bay. Tamara just wished she could get Costanza to whisper to her, much less laugh with her, or at her for that matter.

Something had changed in her that morning, after he'd left. She thought of how selfish she'd been to think that Christopher would love her more than he loved Megan. And she'd seen the look in his eyes at the dance, in what seemed so long ago. There was nothing you could do to fight love like that.

_Costanza looks at me like that_. She knew it. She knew that he was in love with her, and she wondered for just how long. The feelings she'd had for him before had been infatuation, competitiveness…but love? Tamara remembered how he'd protected her from the other pilots; from embarrassing herself. Most guys wouldn't give a rip about her dignity. It only made him more endearing.

"Am I in love with him?"

She cringed as she heard the words come out of her mouth. Glad that no one else was in the corridor with her, she quickened her pace to get back to his room. _Maybe I am._ Her thoughts stopped as she looked up into the smiling face of Brendan Costanza. He reached out a hand to her, trying to get her to come up to him.

Slowly, after putting the book down on the chair, she walked over to him and leaned in to hear what he was trying to say. Tam barely caught it as he whispered, his throat raw and scratchy from the tube that had recently been removed.

"Hello beautiful."

Relief washed over her as she knew that everything would be all right. Tamara Agathon would sleep well tonight.

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	58. Strange Fate

"Walk with me, Lieutenant."

He'd been dreading this moment…but since Starbuck had walked in on them in sickbay, she'd been nagging him all about it.

"Yes sir."

HotDog responded sounding tired. He had been heading down the corridor toward the exercise room. Doctor Agathon had not cleared him for flight status, but she said he could get in a little bit of activity to help that lung of his get even stronger. And there was no way he was going to sit in bed in his sweats all day.

Lee sighed as he thought how to approach the subject. Several of the officers had expressed concern over the possibility of a relationship between Costanza and Lieutenant Agathon. He, himself, wasn't truly that concerned. At least she wasn't his subordinate, and to Lee, age was just a number. _Besides_, he told himself, _HotDog has always suffered from arrested development._

"Costanza, several of the officers have expressed concern over your relationship with Lieutenant Tamara Agathon. Is there anything I should be privy to?"

The slightly younger Lieutenant, only by about four or five years, really, could see that the XO was not comfortable talking about the subject.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Permission granted."

"I don't really think it's anyone's business but our own."

HotDog spoke with confidence in his voice. After all, the biggest obstacle they would have faced would have been Helo, being her father and all. But one talk from the wife had taken care of that. The Agathons were pretty accepting to the possibility that he might actually care for their daughter.

"What I mean to say, sir, is that we aren't breaking any regs, sir. I mean, you were Major Thrace's superior officer before you got together. At least we're the same rank. Opinions are just that, and I think it should be left between her and me. Besides, you're only as old as you feel."

That was probably the most intelligent thing he had ever heard the man say. At that point, Lee Adama realized just how old he did feel. Costanza was right, but he had to throw something in for good measure, lowering his voice a few notches to try and make it sound threatening, but with a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Fine. Don't break any regs or the girl's heart, and I won't have to let you get broken by a certain CAG and Lieutenant Agathon's godmother."

"Sir, yes sir."

"Dismissed Lieutenant."

HotDog gave the Colonel a crisp salute, and then turned around to go back down the hallway. Now more than ever he wanted to burn off a little steam. Doctor's orders be damned.

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The feeling of the warm sun on her back brought back memories of her childhood. Images of the horizon had improved over the last twenty years. The last time she'd been there was five or six years prior, when her mom and dad had brought her there for a birthday picnic.

"Hey you. Come here."

Chris's voice brought her out of her reverie. He wrapped his thick, muscled arms around her tightly, causing her to shiver from the inside out.

"Hi."

Megan said nothing else, just enjoying the safety and comfort of his embrace. But her leaning against him was beginning to cause him the opposite effect.

"Come on Meg. Let me show you your room."

Leading her by the hand, she was struck by the familiarity of it. Not too many years ago, she had led Chris aboard Galactica, showing him all the 'sights'. As he opened the door, she saw that he hadn't booked a single room, but a two bedroom suite.

She gasped aloud and giggled at the sight of the main bedroom, which had wall to wall mirrors. _They even cover the closet doors_! To the right was a smaller bedroom, which was decorated in a more demure style. Inwardly she cringed as she guessed which one she would be staying in if she ended up sleeping alone, and which she would if they ended up sleeping together. But she was also touched by the fact he had been considerate enough to think about her need to take her own time.

Between the two rooms was a small sitting room with a doorway off to the side that led to the bathroom. A tiny table sat in the center of the room, with a large bouquet of flowers upon it in yellow and white.

"Do you like it?"

She turned, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning backward, feeling giddy. He held her safely aloft, making sure she kept her balance.

"Do I like it? What do you think? It's wonderful, silly."

Megan uprighted herself, pulling his head down to meet hers so she could plant a big wet one on his lips. The kiss didn't last long, though. Her stomach began to grumble.

"I think that's our cue to go find something to eat."

Christopher shook his head, finding the little girl in her endearing. But he looked at her as she led him out the door, and found nothing there but young woman.

Their meal was quick, as both of them wanted to get back to the room so they could be alone. Once they were there, there was no question as to what was on each other's mind.

Christopher cupped Megan's cheek, kissing her gently.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. She had never been so sure of anything in her life…. _Except maybe fixing Vipers, and flying them, and…._ She mentally told herself to shut up. Her mind was rambling all on its own.

Her mind had blown by the time they were coming back down off of their together high. Gasping for air, Megan couldn't believe how she felt; so alive, so exhausted, and a little pained. She had kept her eyes closed, but now was trying to rest comfortably in her lovers arms while they had ended up sitting upright together.

Feeling and hearing the sharp intake of break he made, she opened her eyes to look at Chris's face. What she saw there wasn't love and compassion, it was abject horror.

"Chris, what's wrong!"

Then she looked behind him at their reflection in one of the mirrors, and she froze. Behind her, he was looking at almost the same thing.

Two glowing red spines, throbbing in sync with the other's mate.

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	59. Revelations

_**Sorry it took so long for the update. I have to think about where these are going sometimes. This one took a bit longer than the others.**_

**_Thanks for all of the reviews, they really helped a lot. Happy reading folks!_**

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The silence surrounding them was deafening. Megan carefully extracted herself from his arms, and mechanically began putting on her clothes. Christopher Adama could see the shock on her face, as it mirrored his own.

"We have to talk about this."

She flinched at his words as they sliced through the air to her ears. But the shock at seeing both of them being at least part Cylon was still prevailing her functions. Megan stood there with her pants in her hands, not moving while she contemplated it. She didn't move again until he put his hand on hers, causing her to shrink back.

"Megan. There's nothing wrong with us. I promise you. But we need to talk about this."

"No."

The word came calmly but forcefully from her lips. There were so many unanswered questions now. She had no idea that the man she loved was part of the enemy. And now, it seemed so was she. _Am I going crazy? Am I going to hurt someone who doesn't deserve it?_ Finally, something in her clicked.

"No. We need to go talk to someone else first."

He seemed to be in agreement. Calmly, he slid on her shirt for her, buttoning it up to the collar. He knew what was going through her mind. He'd had years to come to grips with it. Rebecca had told him he was different a long time ago. They sighed in unison. But he spoke before she could.

"I think we should go talk with your mother. If anybody can help us, she can."

"No, not her. My aunt Sharon is who we have to see. She's the only one who wouldn't turn us in or try to do a million tests on us. Come on."

Once again, Megan was leading Chris by the hand, searching for their future.

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Helo opened the door, smiling down at his pseudo-niece.

"Hey Meg. Lieutenant Adama. Come on in."

It was after they crossed the threshold that he noticed something was wrong. Megan's knuckles had turned white where she was holding onto Christopher's hand. And the features of her face were tight and pained-looking. The young man's face was calm by comparison.

"Megan? Is everything all right?"

She swallowed hard, and then spoke to him, not quite able to look him in the eye.

"Yes, Uncle Karl. But we need to speak to Aunt Sharon. Alone."

_Curious_.

"Alone, huh? Okay. She's in the shower, but she'll be out in a few minutes. Why don't you two have a seat?"

Helo stared at them as Chris helped her to sit down. Whatever it was, it was serious. And they seemed to not be in the mood to share. Sharon opened the door to the bathroom, her wet hair hanging to her waist. Gods, she's beautiful. The years had barely changed his wife, and he was more in love with her now, than the first time they'd made love back on that gods' awful excuse for a planet. He stood up, walking over to her to give her a kiss.

"What's up?"

Kissing her soundly with a look of hunger in his eyes, he carefully reigned in the desire to take her to the bedroom and have his way with her. Instead, he sighed and pulled on his jacket, hanging in the hallway.

"Those two kids want to talk to you. I don't have a clue what about, but they look a little scared. Take it easy on them, hey? I'm going down to work out. See you in a bit."

Helo waved as he closed the door behind him, wondering what had frightened Tyrol's daughter so much that she was currently shaking on his couch – looking like she was going before a firing squad.

Sharon watched her husband leave, and then sat down on the edge of the couch, taking one of her niece's hands into hers. The girl instantly became calmer – like she knew that everything was going to be all right.

"Okay. Tell me what happened. Start from the beginning."

Megan couldn't speak…or wouldn't. It wasn't that she didn't want to; she just couldn't get the words to come out. Christopher waited a few seconds, and then he began.

"We went to Cloud Nine today. We had a pass for the entire weekend. Just because we can't fraternize here on Galactica, doesn't mean we can't hang out in other places. Well, we ate dinner, then we went back to our room where…."

"You had sex; made love. Am I right?"

Megan swallowed harder, finally able to look up at her aunt while she squeaked out a single word.

"Yes."

Christopher took her empty hand in his. Two people who loved her very much were there to support her. It gave her a little bit of the strength she needed to finish the story of what had happened. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled loudly as she let the words tumble out.

"We were making love, then we sat there in each others' arms. When I opened my eyes, Christopher was looking at me with this, this look of just…horror on his face."

He shook his head sharply.

"It wasn't horror, Megan. Just surprise. It wasn't something I expected to happen. Not with you, not with anybody."

Sharon laughed, thinking it was just regular young love between a slightly experienced male and his virginal girlfriend.

"Okay…finish the story. I'm sure it was nothing that you can't get past."

"I wouldn't bet on that."

Megan said the words gruffly and under her breath.

"Aunt Sharon…dammit, I'll just say it. The reason we both were surprised and a little shocked was…our spines glowed – when we orgasmed our spines glowed. Human beings don't do that, do they?"

The last question was more of a matter-of-fact statement than an actual question. It wasn't something that Sharon had expected. She dropped Megan's hand, pulling her hair back as she sighed aloud.

"Whoa. That's a little bigger than I expected. Yeah…human beings don't do that. Cylons do. But you two aren't Cylons. I mean, Christopher, tests were run when you were born."

He smiled, already knowing the answer to that.

"Baltar lied about that, sir. Just like he lied to Valerii about her being Cylon in the first place. I'm part human, part Cylon…a hybrid if you will."

Megan turned to look at him a little more clearly.

"Do your parents know about this?"

Christopher shook his head. It was something he didn't share with them, because there was more than one explanation to it. He didn't ever want his mother to think that she might be a Cylon; it would have driven Kara Thrace crazy.

"No, huh? Well, you two are going to have to tell your parents now. And I'll go with the both of you. I just hope there aren't any more Cylons in our midst. This could turn out real bad."

Sharon thought of all the prophecies, both human and Cylon. For both races, this seemed like the answer to their salvation – or the key to their damnation.

"Let's go, you two. We've got some work to do."

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	60. Tell me part 1

"Excuse me? Back up and start from the beginning!"

It was the third time they had explained it to her. Kara just wasn't processing it. She'd read over Rebecca's diary three or four times in the past few months, but it didn't mention anything like this.

The first time Sharon had explained Christopher's biology to her, she just shook her head. The second time was after she had called Apollo back to quarters for something 'important'. Now Sharon was going over it again, and by now she knew what to say by rote.

Lee dragged his hands through his hair. _At this rate I might as well kiss it goodbye_. A few strands pulled loose from his scalp as he brought his hands back down again. He noticed his leg was twitching involuntarily, and he willed it to stop. _My son, part Cylon_.

He took a deep breath and sighed.

"So what you're saying is that when Kara was stuck back on Caprica in that…that Farm, thing, that they were experimenting on her?"

Sharon nodded. She had finally figured out what was going on by putting two and two together.

"Yes. That is what I'm trying to explain. Apparently Rebecca explained to Chris that his birth mother had a few problems with trying to conceive. Originally, they disposed of unwanted genetic candidates. But thanks to a certain Cylon who felt sorry for Starbuck, he repaired the damage to her fallopian tubes and she was therefore able to conceive. But to repair the tubes, he had to use Cylon technology. The DNA mixed with her own human DNA and then was passed on to Christopher. So you see, Kara is not and never has been a true Cylon. She just ended up with some parts by default."

Her eyes hollow as she looked up at them, Kara didn't know whether to scream or cry.

"Excuse me."

Sharon and Lee nodded as she rose up off the couch and headed to the bedroom. It was more than the woman could apparently take. A short time later, they heard a crash. Lee jumped up and ran to the room.

In front of the mirror on the wall, which was now broken beyond repair, Kara was holding onto her abdomen with one hand, and staring oddly at her other – which was now dripping blood onto the carpeted floor. There was a tiny piece of mirror glass that had embedded itself in-between two of her knuckles where she'd punched it seconds earlier.

"You're going to need stitches for that."

She took Kara's hand into her own, and wiped it clean with a damp cloth, checking the area thoroughly to see if there was any other damage. Finding none, she wrapped up the hand and then gave Thrace a supportive pat on the back.

"You're coming down with me to sickbay now. I've got two more parents that I have to break some interesting news to, and I don't think that Galen is going to take it as lightly as you have."


	61. Tell me part 2

_**Sorry this is coming a little slowly, but I lost my muse for a little while. Given some time, I found it again. Happy reading, and the next chapter will be done soon. It's taking me a little longer to write, and rewrite, and rewrite – without having to kill a beta or two.**_

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Megan trembled as she stood outside her parents' door. She shifted as she felt Chris's arm come around her shoulders, but it did nothing to qualm her fears. _How can he be so calm?_

It wasn't that he was calm. In fact, on the inside his virtual knees were buckling. But Chris knew that if he showed any sign of weakness, they would use it against him. He wasn't going to be stupid.

Her aunt Sharon knocked first. It was good to know they'd have some semblance of moral support. Meg's father had never frightened her before, but every sense in her being told her that Galen Tyrol was not going to take this news lightly.

Sharon Valerii opened the door with a smile. But when she saw the look on Sharon Agathon's features, the smile disappeared, leaving a fairly serious countenance.

"We need to speak to you and the Chief."

Behind Dr. Agathon, Sharon could see her daughter Megan – pale and frightened. She reached out and pulled her little girl to her, hugging her tightly.

"It's okay sweetheart. Whatever it is, everything is going to be all right."

Megan nodded, knowing that eventually it would be, but she was still scared all the same.

"Let's go find your Dad. He's still eating, I think."

Sure enough, Master Chief Galen Tyrol was sitting at the tiny little table that sat off to the side of the kitchen. He looked up at his partner first, seeing the grave look in her eyes. She was closely followed by Sharon, Megan and Lieutenant Adama. He focused on his daughter's face, so deathly pale, but with eyes that were rimmed in a deep and puffy red. Tyrol rose ever so slowly, putting his fork down with an audible clink.

"Honey, what's wrong? Come here."

But Megan did not move. She unconsciously shifted to where she was closer to Chris, and she visibly began trembling anew.

"What the…?"

He saw red. There was only one thing in his mind that they could have to say that would make Megan frightened of her own father.

And she was, at that moment, right to be afraid.

It only took two strides to close the distance between himself and Christopher Adama. With both hands, he lifted the younger man off the floor by his neck, adrenaline giving him brute strength. Tyrol barely felt the hands of the two Cylon women trying to pull him down off the XO's son. Slowly, in echoes, their voices came through to him.

"Chief, NO!"

"Galen? Galen honey, let go! You have to let go of him."

"DADDY!"

It was his daughter's voice that came in loud and clear. Slowly, he removed his hands from Chris's throat, letting Kara's only son slide down the Tyrol's kitchen wall. There was already some bruising appearing on his pale, white skin. Exasperated and breathing raggedly, Galen turned to the three women who were staring at him rather aghast.

"Would someone please tell me what the frak is going on here?"

An hour later, Tyrol was still sitting on the couch, dumbfounded.

"So somehow, Sharon's Cylon DNA passed on to Megan, but Tamara is…completely normal? But how is that possible? You two share the same DNA."

Dr. Agathon knew where he was going with it. True, that she and Valerii shared the exact same DNA, but what he was forgetting was the he and Helo obviously didn't. She shook her head as she tried to clarify it for him.

"Basically what I'm thinking is that the DNA that we both carry searched for the perfect mate. But apparently, Helo's genetics are more dominant than yours are. No offense intended."

"None taken. But it still doesn't explain him."

Tyrol was pointing to Adama, who was sitting quietly on the couch, letting Megan's aunt do all the talking. He looked down to see the young man's hand gripping lightly onto hers.

"Gods, you really love her don't you?"

Galen sighed aloud, and then lowered his voice, barely letting the words escape.

"I'm sorry, Christopher. I thought you'd come here to tell me she was pregnant…or…something."

He looked toward Sharon again, patiently awaiting an answer.

"He is explained by the trip that Kara took to Caprica."

Skimming over some of the more juicy details, Sharon told him how she'd been 'fixed' by the Cylons.

"I must say, old age has made you mellow, Chief. You just took that a hell of a lot better than Kara did."

He pointed to his temples, where the hair had already turned a brilliant white.

"See those? By the time all of this is finished, my whole head is going to be that color. Or worse, I'll end up looking like old Colonel Tigh. Ew."

Megan smiled, quietly thanking God and the gods for this moment. It was when she knew that she'd be okay.

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	62. Trying times

_**Thanks for all of your patience. I'm trying to get back on track with this one. I know where it's all going to end, but I have to get there first. Happy reading, and please, please, please review.**_

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Six months had passed before she started getting sick. Megan was prepping for a pre-flight briefing when the first bout of nausea hit.

Chris walked in on his girlfriend hovering closely to one of the toilets in the head. From what he could tell, she was only having dry heaves. He didn't know that was because she had already emptied out the contents of her stomach an hour earlier.

"Megan, are you okay?"

She managed to garble out a response before the next wave hit.

"Leave me alone."

He laughed, looking for a towel to clean her up a bit.

"Not a chance, Captain. You're just going to have to suck it up and let someone else take care of you for a change. Now come here."

Megan forced herself to get up. Her face was pale and tinged with green. She rested her head on his chest as he gently and carefully wiped the sweat from her forehead, moving slowly and methodically down until he reached her chin. The slightly vacant look in her eyes caused him to be more concerned.

"Babe, are you sure you're okay? I think maybe you should make a trip down to sickbay."

Megan only nodded. She was too weak to argue…or to care. Chris picked her up in his arms, and slowly walked down the corridor, taking a new patient to see Dr. Agathon.

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"Well, there's good news, and there's bad news."

Sharon sighed as she looked at the anxious faces of Megan's parents, boyfriend, and that of the XO. Lee put one hand on his son's shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before he spoke.

"Okay, Doctor. Go ahead."

"Well, for starters Colonel, you and the Chief will soon be proud grandfathers."

Tyrol's smile was broad at the thought of having another little rugrat to teach the fine art of Viper maintenance. But his partner was more serious and more wary, having not forgotten so quickly what her copy had said about 'bad news'.

"And…?"

Sharon Agathon took in a deep breath. Being a Cylon allowed her to react differently to her own human emotions if she so chose. It came in handy in her profession when she had to deliver less than great results. But she knew that Valerii wouldn't be able to do so…not this time….

"And…well…she's also dying."

"What?"

The exclamation came from Tyrol. Valerii's arms began to shake, and Lee's face looked grief-stricken already. Only Chris had managed to still remain calm.

"Okay…so…tell us what we can do."

Sharon began pacing back and forth. The next few minutes would be critical in figuring out whether her niece was going to live or die.

"There's no easy answer to that one, I'm afraid. I've already spoken to her about it. You see, it's the fetus itself that is killing her. It's literally sucking the life out of her."

The Chief grabbed Sharon Valerii as she swayed and almost hit the deck. Lee Adama was right there with him, reaching down to help pull her up. Galen was dumbfounded.

"So abort the thing already!"

The poor doctor was exasperated.

"I can't Chief! She won't let me! Don't you think I've already asked her that? And ethically speaking, I won't. She's already four months along, dammit."

The young Colonel looked over at the Cylon Doctor, abject fear present in his eyes. His voice came out eerily calm and quiet.

"What does she need, Sharon? I can see you're holding something back. Just spit it out already."

"The gene that is causing this comes from Chris. But I haven't figured out how to isolate it, even in him. The problem that we're facing is that we can only do so if we have the source. That is, we have to find out where the donated DNA that repaired Kara's wounds came from. That's the DNA that has been passed down, and it's the same that is causing the fetus to be parasitic right now."

Tyrol didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Ex-excuse me…did you say, the **source**?"

"Yes Chief. The only way to cure your daughter is to find the source. All Cylons share similar DNA that makes them inherently Cylon. But each individual model carries other DNA that obviously makes them unique from the others. I'm sorry, but there's just no easy way."

"S-So you're saying…. We either find the one out of the twelve models that is causing this, or my daughter dies?"

They were the first words that Boomer had uttered since coming into the room. Everyone slowly turned to look at her before shifting back to Dr. Agathon.

She said nothing, only nodding her head to confirm the deadly choice that someone was going to have to make. They all knew it was most likely going to be left in the hands of one very scared young girl who was listening to it all from behind a curtain on the other side of sick bay.

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	63. No End Yet

_Seven days. They had given her seven days to decide_. Tamara had been to the lab, checking on the progress ever since they'd figured out what was wrong with her cousin Meg. She could overhear her mother talking with Commander Adama.

"So you're saying, basically, that if Chris had gotten any normal, one hundred percent human female pregnant, then none of this would be happening right now. But because my son and Boomer's daughter…got it on…? Gods, how could we have known?"

Sharon frowned, the space between her eyebrows furrowing as she did so. She'd been over the material again and again. But the Cylon DNA inside the fetus was attacking the other Cylon DNA present inside Megan's own blood.

"We couldn't have. God only knows what He was thinking when this was allowed to happen. It's acting like a cancer. And it's progressing at an accelerated rate. She'll make it seven or eight months, tops."

"Will she die, mom?"

They turned and saw Tamara Agathon's normally tanned complexion had turned a pale, almost ashen color. Sharon handed the papers she had been working on to the XO and moved to put her arms firmly around her daughter's shoulders. After hugging her tightly, she pulled away a bit, looking Tam slowly and steadily in the eyes.

"Not if I can help it."

The tears in her eyes stung, but Tamara held them back as she managed, somehow, to swallow the sob that had been making its way up her throat_. I will not lose it now. I will stay strong._ She nodded her understanding.

Lee watched as the young girl before him fought the urge to cry. _Poor kid_. He tried to remain nonchalant while waiting for her to leave the room. Turning to Sharon, he gave her some orders she really didn't wish to hear.

"All right Sharon; here's the sitrep. We will spend twenty-one days finding all the Cylon models that we can. We've got files on what, ten of them? That means there are two more to go. Now answer me truthfully, Dr. Agathon. Do you, or do you not, know what the other two models look like?"

She shook her head in denial. She had once told the Commander's father that she would not turn in the other eight models. But six of them had surfaced over time. _Indeed, that left only two more. _She knew they would be females – an equal six and six – but for once, in all honesty, she had no clue who they would be. And Lee could see the truth of it on her face.

"Commander, for the sake of my niece, who in reality is my own damned flesh and blood…I wish to God that I knew! But I don't."

Adama exhaled. He had been hoping that maybe she'd just been lying this whole time. Sharon had always withheld information if she knew it would protect her family or herself to do so. The desperation he saw in Sharon's eyes convinced him otherwise.

"Fine then. You have forty-eight hours to get anything together that the search teams are going to need. We'll send them out with one Raptor team at a time, keeping them on a steady rotation. Anything you might need better be ready. We don't really have time for screwing around. And Sharon…?"

Looking up, she saw the genuine sadness and regret in the Commander's eyes.

"For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry."

She thought how much he reminded her of his father right then.

"She's not dead yet, Apollo; not yet."

_**Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_

_**And so we push on. Can anyone guess what's going to happen? Hmm? Then end is near…that I CAN tell you. Thanks for all the reviews.**_


	64. Borrowed Time

"Tamara, Tamara – honey, wake up."

She was warm and snug under the covers of her bunk. Her nausea had ceased somewhere in the middle of the night, and Brendan had crawled inside with her when the nightmares began.

"Five more minutes, Bren…just five more minutes."

"You don't have five more minutes, Tam. You've got to be in CIC in twenty. I figured you'd want to shower before that."

Costanza pulled the cover down to expose the nape of her slender neck, and placed his lips there, causing shivers to make their way up and down her spine.

"Alright, alright already. I'm coming."

Tamara shifted and rolled over onto her back. She looked up into Brendan's smiling face, one that she was glad she had found. He placed a hand onto her belly, rubbing it back and forth.

"Besides, this little guy might want some breakfast before his mommy goes off on an eight-hour shift, won't he? Yes you will my little wonder man, yes you will. Do you want something to eat? Yes you do, don't you."

She rolled her eyes and pushed his hand away, pulling another tank over her head in an effort to seem halfway decent.

"Who says it's going to be a boy? It could be a girl, you know. An awesome Viper pilot like her future godmother Starbuck."

"Lords I hope not, Tam. I'll be sweating every day he/she goes out that they might not come back in again. Come on, I'll wait for you in the mess."

Tamara stretched quickly, grabbed her towel and made her way down the long corridor to the showers. Not one month after they'd discovered Megan was pregnant that Tamara and Hotdog found out they were expecting, too. Helo hadn't been very happy about it, but her mother explained that faulty contraceptives were to blame for the large increase in the number of crew that were becoming pregnant. That cooled him off, a little.

Lee Adama's twenty-one day cap had come and gone. Megan was still dying, and there was nothing they could do about it. Only one more Cylon had been detected, and she'd been right there under their noses, all along. She was an elderly model, but one that had aged well. Sarah had been a Gemenese delegate to the Quorum of twelve, back in their grandparents' day. And she had been there, shaping the colonists' lives every step of the way, undetected.

That left one more. But her mother had tested every single person in the fleet. There were no more Cylons; only human beings, now. And they were all growing very, very tired of the chase that made up their everyday lives.

Tamara let the warm water wash over her, allowing her to dwell on the future. For her cousin, it was a future that may not be. She thought of the child growing within her own womb, and how she didn't mean to be selfish, but that now there was no way she would trade places with Megan. There was too much for her to live for.

_**Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_

Megan Tyrol lay in sickbay. She had been in sickbay for two months now. Her aunt Sharon had tried having something set up for her in quarters, but it didn't work out, and right back into sickbay she came.

"I hate sickbay. I hate anything that has to do with hospitals."

"Now tell me why you say that? You've never even been to a hospital, young lady."

Sharon Agathon walked over and placed a hand to stroke her niece's curling locks. She had watched this little girl grow up from day one. She could have been my own. That's what made the fact that they would one day lose her even harder.

All of her time spent with these humans had in fact made Sharon more human herself. Within the fleet, Sharon and Boomer were the only ones of their kind left to live in peace. All the other Cylons had been air locked or shipped over to the Astral Queen, which was now just another bucket of bolts…just like the Galactica was becoming. We'd better find Earth soon. Stockpiles of supplies were becoming shorter and shorter, but more and more in need. She was trying to work on a new type of contraceptive to fight the sharp increase in population before someone decided to put a moratorium on pregnancies.

"Are you sure, kiddo? You still want to go on like this?"

"Yes, Aunt Sharon. I do. It's not the baby's fault that it's killing me."

Sharon laughed. She remembered something that old Doc Cottle had once said to her.

"Yeah, you'd figure the Cylons would have figured a way to update the plumbing, hmm?"

That brought a smile to Meg's face. Those were few and far between these days.

Her smile broadened when a visitor came to see her.

"Hello love. How are we feeling today?"

Christopher bent down and took her hand into his, kissing it lightly. He smiled on the outside, but Sharon could tell from the look in his eyes that this was killing him.

"I'll leave you two alone."

She looked back as she walked away to her desk to see Christopher lay his head on Megan's stomach. It reminded her of when she'd done the same with Helo, when they, too, were uncertain of what their future held.

_**Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_

_**With a little patience, we'll get to where we're going. I can say that we're in the home stretch…not too many chapters left. Happy reading.**_


	65. Life goes on

**_Hey all. This is just a chapter that shows how life continues to go on inside the great big battlestar in the sky. Even when there are crises in one's life. Have fun reading and please review when you get the chance_**.

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The claxons sounded irregularly onboard the Old Girl. Galen had finally retired from his post, but he'd known that as long as he and Boomer were together, he could never leave the Galactica and move about the rest of the fleet. _Besides, my baby's here_. The ache is his right knee made his limp more pronounced as of late. Sharon had run some tests and told him it was from arthritis. He was too stubborn to let it keep him away from the hangar deck.

"All right, Chief, what have we got?"

Jammer smiled in response. He was still getting used to the title that came with taking over Tyrol's position.

"Don't know. The alert is sounding, but we haven't gotten anything from CIC. It might just be a false alarm. If you look up, you'll notice that the claxons aren't in time with the lights, and vice versa."

Galen followed to where the younger man was pointing, adjusting his glasses to get a better look. Sure enough, something, somewhere, had a short in it. He knew what needed to be done, but he waited for the new chief to continue.

"Got any suggestions, old man?"

The light tap Galen gave him on the shoulder brought out a laugh, and let Jammer know that he wasn't that old just yet!

"Yeah…get on the horn with CIC. They're going to have to shut down their electrical connection until you can either bypass it or fix it. Either way, the alert system will be down for at least…I'd say, two, three hours tops. And that's only if you can bypass it."

"Thanks Chief…I mean, Tyrol. Gods, I just can't get used to the title, you know? You'll always be chief of the deck in my book, and I'll still be some lowly little knuckledragger."

He looked down at his shoes, then after a few seconds looked back up at Tyrol.

"How's Megan doing?"

Galen shrugged.

"She's pretty much the same, man. She's always tired, looking more and more pale every day. The only way she's going to leave sickbay is with a miracle…or a body bag."

"Sorry, Chief. Give Megan my best."

Tyrol reached up and shoved him gently, laughing lightly as he did so.

"Go on, kid. Get out of here! You've got work to do."

The new chief of the deck nodded and walked away, yelling at a few of his new knuckledraggers to help him with the job at hand. Galen thought of what he himself had said about Megan, and his heart felt heavy once again.

_**Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_

Six months. She was six months pregnant, and eating like a horse. The food they were existing on barely qualified as field rations, but the baby took everything he could get.

_He._ She liked the sound of that. Her belly had swollen to an unbelievable size recently, but Tamara smiled as she reached down to cup her hands around it. She felt the baby kick and decided to go look for something else to eat.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Brendan wouldn't let go of her hand. He barely got to spend any time with her these days as it was. His shift started in two hours, and he'd planned to spend every second with his girlfriend and his soon to be born son. Okay, three more months, but who's counting?

"Bren, the baby's kicking the crap out of me, and I'm hungry. I've already eaten everything from this morning. Are you going to sit there, or will you come with me?"

His eyes twinkled as he reached behind him and pulled out something, tucked neatly into one hand. Tamara craned to get a look at it, but because of the decreased mobility the baby was causing, she couldn't quite get there.

"What? Come on honey, either show me what you've got, or I'm out of here."

Costanza may be older than her, but with his increase in years, he hadn't gotten any wiser. Never, ever withhold food from a pregnant woman, unless you don't value your life very much.

She watched as he opened his hand to reveal a small item wrapped in foil.

"What is it?"

"I'm not telling, you have to earn it."

Tamara scoffed at the idea.

"I don't know what it is that you have in mind right now, babe, but your son wants food and he wants it now. I'm not falling for any of your little sexually depraved tricks or fantasies right now. I'll see you later."

Hotdog grabbed her arm as she went toward the door. He hadn't meant to tick her off.

"Hey, wait hon. Look."

He unfolded the tiny tin to reveal a pastry of some kind. And it was filled with white cream. Tam's eyes grew wide in excitement and her stomach began to growl; just enough to make the baby kick in anticipation. She made a lunge for her boyfriend's hand.

"Give that to me. Now. Or you will sleep not a wink when you come back from CAP this evening."

"Give us a kiss, and it's all yours."

Tired of playing the game, Tamara leaned in and gave him a lightning fast peck on the cheek, stealing the cake from his hand. She'd already sunk her teeth in for the first bite before he even knew it was gone.

"Hey!"

"Thanks babe…but I'm still hungry."

She heard the hatch slam shut as she made her way to the mess, in search of something to make her stomach shut up. Back in the room she had just left, Brendan Costanza was shaking his head back and forth.

"Women."

_**Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_

"You're fat."

"I am not fat! Now tell me what's wrong with me so I can get back to work."

"You're fat, sir. End of story. You've gained twenty pounds since the last time you came to see me. You're not a young man any more. A weight gain like that is going to be tough to get rid of at your age, and every day it seems like you've run a marathon, when you've barely even moved about your ship. Am I right?"

Sharon stood there grinning at him as she finished giving him his test results. Not being completely human herself, she still appeared younger than all of the other shipmates that were in her age range.

"I'm forty-five years old, dammit. There's no reason I should feel like this."

Lee carefully buttoned up the front of his uniform. Lately he had been feeling more tired and more drained, even after the shortest of shifts. The stress of the last few months had finally caught up with him, it seemed. He'd been eating every time he got upset, and even with Kara's words of warning, he still hadn't paid her any mind. But she still looks like she did when we were our kids' age.

"The diagnosis is simple, sir. Now, if you want to stop feeling this way, I suggest you find a way to fit in a morning and an afternoon run, with three weight training sessions a week. And lay off the junk."

Shaking his head, he thought about the food that they served every day in the mess. When they were lucky, the fleet would stumble across an uninhabited planet that had enough resources on it for them to keep on going with a few fresh reserve stores. When they were unlucky, they ate the same old stuff, day in and day out. After years of living on rations, he could barely tell the difference anymore from one food item to the next.

"Thanks doc. How's your niece?"

"About the same."

Two curtains over, Megan was sleeping peacefully. They had done a few rounds of physical therapy to keep her muscles working, and then the girl was so exhausted, she'd fallen right into a deep, peaceful slumber. Sharon knew that it was not probable, but she still hoped that God would give her a miracle.

"Sorry to hear that. Give her my best. I don't want to wake her."

"Okay. Thank you, Commander."

Lee nodded and jumped off the gurney with the intention of looking for Kara and asking her what it was that kept her so trim.

_**Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_

"You okay, or do you want to take a breather?"

"Frak you, Karl."

"Yes sir."

Kara put her full force into the next punch. But Helo had been ready for it, not flinching nor falling backward as she hit the bag. The old thing was beginning to fall apart from too many years of overuse.

"I am not old, Karl. And neither are you. Just because we've been downgraded to training nuggets so that Kat could be sole CAG, doesn't mean we're out to pasture just yet."

He steadied himself as her punches became more forceful. Starbuck had always remained her fit and athletic self. Sometimes it drained him just to keep up with her, but he would never let his best friend have the upper hand by calling him out of shape.

"And here I thought that after twenty years in the service, you'd be ready to retire; same as me."

Kara stopped punching for a minute, wiping a stray hair out of her eyes with her worn red boxing glove.

"Retire to where, Karl? Seen any good planets lately? Did someone forget to tell me that we'd reached Earth and you and I just conveniently forgot to get off this boat?"

"What the frak has gotten up your butt, Kara?"

Helo was caught off guard when Apollo spoke to her, and Kara was able to hit the side of the back hard enough to throw him off balance. He laughed as Lee came up from behind him to help him back to his feet.

"Thanks man. How did my wife treat you?"

Lee rolled his eyes. He'd hoped that Agathon wasn't going to ask him anything about his physical, but he should have known better. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the smirks on both of their faces.

"Very funny. Your wife says I'm fat…end of story."

The last three words he said mockingly, imitating the good doctor. It wasn't long, after a few quickly exchanged glances, that all three of them were rolling with laughter. Kara caught her breath long enough to pull off her gloves and throw them straight at Lee.

"Guess you need these more than I do. I'll be seeing you guys later."

Helo shook his head and Lee just stared as it seemed that once again, Kara Thrace had had the last word.

_**zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_


	66. On with the fight

Kara wasn't sure what was up, but she knew something was coming. She could feel it in her bones. A good pilot never lost their instincts, no matter how old they got. That came from experience, having watched the Old Man day in and day out in CIC when they were all a great deal younger.

Her knee was aching, adding to her discomfort. Sure, she kept fit, but at what price. She just couldn't wait for the day to be an old, fat retired person sitting on a porch on some peaceful planet somewhere. But at the rate this fleet was going, Galactica wasn't going to be worth spare parts if they didn't find something soon. She heard the claxons go off overhead, immediately tensing.

"Attention all hands. This is a malfunction. I repeat, this is a systems malfunction. Please disregard."

"Frak."

Now even the ships electrical was becoming fried. _What next, the Vipers, too?_ Just then, she heard her name called overhead.

"Please pass it along: Major Thrace, please report to CIC. Major Thrace, please report to CIC."

"Now what?"

She slowly made her way to the deck, trying not to make her limp noticeable. There were many questioning eyes as she passed by; even sticking her tongue out in response to some of the nuggets' stares.

Entering the CIC in her sweats, she gave the best salute possible as her husband turned around to greet her.

"Ah, Starbuck. So nice of you to join us. We've got another op that we need to plan, and I figured your input would be the best."

"Sir, yes sir. Whatever I can do to help."

Gods, she hated sucking up to him like this. _You'd think after twenty plus years that he'd do away with the formality._ But Lee had been brought up a military man. And once a military man, always a military man. Even when speaking to your wife.

She leaned over the table in front of her and they got to work.

* * *

"Gods sir. So what you're saying is that we're jumping in there practically blind?"

Kara looked closely at the green-looking kid in front of her.

"What's your name, son?"

"Check Mate, sir."

"Check Mate. Well, I hope you live up to your name, kid. Yes, we're jumping without a lot of information, but it will not be completely blind. You'll have the raptor's sensory information to go by. Unfortunately, Galactica's sensors will be offline, and we don't have the time to sit here and wait another two hours. In seventy-two, there will be 12,000 colonists without food or water. Some of them won't have fresh air to breath, either, and will be dying a slow death. Do you wish to tell them that you're sorry because you didn't want to jump this mission?"

The kid looked scared enough to piss his pants. Kara smiled broadly. She hadn't lost her touch. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Helo move forward to speak.

"What the Major was putting so eloquently is that we don't have as much information as we wished, just to be 100 sure. But nothing in this Universe is absolute. I've been jumping these birds for longer than most of you have been alive, so just deal with it. And make sure you don't forget your prayers before you go. That always helps."

Karl couldn't help the smirk that twitched at the corner of his lips. Kara couldn't either.

"Okay nuggets. You're dismissed. You all have one hour before you have to report to the flight deck. Get a nap in, or maybe and extra shower. See you in a while."

She smiled as she turned to her best friend of almost half a century. His face had become more serious as the pilots left the room.

"So, Kara…do you think we'll be able to do this?"

"We have to, Helo. We have no other choice."

* * *

_**There you go folks. My muse has returned. At least for this fic, anyway. Hope you guys will like where this one is headed. I'll try to update at least once a week, as I now have three BSG fics and one Harry Potter one. (my BSG muse was replaced with a Harry Potter one…what can I say?)**_

_**Please hit the little 'go' button at the bottom of your screen. Toodles!**_


	67. Chapter 67

Less than six hours later, Kara Thrace was sitting in the pilot's seat of a Raptor, preparing to jump into what she hoped would be a good mission.

"Okay everyone, listen up. You've got your coordinates. This is not the time for hesitation, or for chickening out. If you don't want to do this, now is the time to hand in your wings and move to the back of the boat. Let your co-pilot do the flying."

"Geez, boss, do you think you could scare 'em anymore?"

Thinly veiled sarcasm laced his words as HotDog looked back at Helo, who gave the younger pilot a wink. Starbuck punched him on the shoulder in response, speaking off of the mic so that no one else could hear her.

"Keep your mouth shut and your jokes to yourself, Costanza. I know that's how you deal with your own stress, but I'm freaking out here as it is. You got that?"

The look on Hotdog's face went from laughing to complete sobriety in one second. He'd never heard Kara mention in all the years that he'd flown with her, that she had felt one iota of fear on a mission. Not one.

"On my mark. Five, four, three, two, one, jump."

Lee Adama watched the dradis in CIC, seeing the blip representing the love of his life's bird disappearing into nothingness. He spoke in barely a whisper.

"Good hunting."

* * *

_**Yes, I know these are short and sweet…. But I've gone from writing episodes to writing scenes, I guess. It's all good. Because tomorrow morning, I'll upload another! Toodles.**_


	68. Chapter 68

"No. No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no! This can't be happening! Not now!"

_Concentrate Tam; you can do this._ Inside her mind she could hear Brendan's voice, calming her down. He would be right. Sometimes, she swore he was always right. But Tamara Agathon refused to let Costanza know that he was always right where she was concerned. No need to let his ego swell, after all.

A grimace came through as she tried to smile to herself, holding onto the Galactica's sturdy old walls as she waddled down the corridor, painfully aware of the growing wetness between her thighs.

Her water had broken. It was two months too early, and she didn't know how much of a chance of survival this baby would have, but she'd be damned if she'd let Hotdog come home to an empty nest.

"Come on, just twenty more yards!"

* * *

Sharon Agathon had been sitting at her desk for three hours straight, looking at the same tests over and over again. Waiting patiently for the results, and desperately trying to find a way to save her niece's life, and the life of her unborn child. Megan was growing increasingly weak, and there was no telling how much longer she would last.

"Stubborn child; almost as bad as Tam."

Sharon heard a faint cry from outside the double doors leading into the corridor to the main part of Galactica. Her eyes narrowed, her brain moving a million miles per second as she stood up, slightly apprehensively, and began to go and check the noise out.

Barely halfway to the entrance, Sharon's eyes widened as the doors opened and in tumbled her own daughter, clutching at her swollen belly. Tamara looked up and said one word before passing out cold on the floor beneath her.

"Mom?"

"Nurse! I need a nurse right now!"


	69. Spoken too soon

_**Again, this is written more like a scene...mainly because that's how they're coming to me brain right now. Sorry about the long wait, but between work, kids, and all the other life stuff, it's taking me a while longer. Take care - and yes, we're almost finished with this ride. Toodles!**_

_**zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**_

"Dammit! You are not frakking going to die on me, do you hear me young lady? Tamara? Frak-frak-frak-frak-frak."

Sharon Agathon had been under severe pressure before in her lifetime. She had often faced adversity being of Cylon origin. But, truth be told, she didn't think she'd ever been as freaked out as she was, standing in front of her unconscious daughter like this. And she didn't even have her husband there to give her support.

Tamara's vital signs were erratic. Her blood pressure was rising and falling. Her pulse rate would speed up and slow down for no known reason. The only thing that qualified as normal was the baby's heart rate – going steady the whole time.

"Aunt Sharon, is everything all right?"

She turned to see her niece Megan walking up behind her. The girl hadn't been up out of bed in months, and yet she seemingly had the strength to walk again today.

"God, Meg. Sit down!"

Megan smiled sheepishly. She knew she was supposed to be on bed rest, but what was going to happen would happen. There was nothing she could do about it. Her eyes narrowed as she saw her cousin's still form lying on the gurney before her.

"How's she doing?"

Wiping the sweat that was forming on her brow, Sharon took a deep breath to try and switch from freaking out mom to calm and controlled doctor. She flipped the page on Tam's chart and quickly jotted down the latest readings the bp cuff had taken before answering the weakened young lady sitting behind her.

"Not so good, Meg. She came in through the doors and passed out. She hasn't said a word since. I wish her father was here."

"Will I do as a substitute?"

Her heart lightened for a split second as she turned to see the graying visage of Galen Tyrol. He reached out and gave her a reassuring hug before pulling up a chair to sit next to his daughter; squeezing her hand in turn.

"I know I don't know much – okay, pretty much nothing about medical stuff…. But I'm willing to do anything to make sure everything is going okay."

"Thanks Chief. That means a lot."

"Anytime."

Megan Tyrol smiled at her father. She suspected that in some way, he would always carry a torch for both Sharons…even though they were inherent individuals. But it made her love him even more, because she could see how big his heart was, even if no one else knew.

"Oh boy."

Galen turned to his daughter, a quizzical look on his features.

"What is it, honey?"

Megan ignored her father and looked at her aunt, the good doctor.

"Aunt Sharon, I think you'd better put another gurney behind this curtain. Because if that's what I think it was, then I'm in labor, too."


	70. Chapter 70

The gush of liquid ran down the chair and made a puddle on the floor beneath it. Sharon felt suddenly like she was moving in slow motion. She had trained for this, and had better instincts and reflexes than most humans. But at that moment, all she felt like doing was sitting down on the floor and having a good cry.

Then the Cylon in her kicked in. It had purpose and drive beyond her human capabilities and it was going to help her get the job done.

"Okay, Galen, get up and grab that gurney and wheel it over here. Then I want you to get a few of your old crew and get them scrubbed and ready to help if I need them. I'm kind of short on staff right now and there's nothing else I can do about it."

Sharon ran to the other side of the aging sickbay, grabbing monitors and supplies as fast as she could load them into a vacant wheelchair. Within no time she had both their girls set up for delivery, and Galen's old crew were in the other room, scrubbing their hands clean in anticipation of two births.

From the monitor beside her, Sharon could tell that Tamara's contractions were increasing, though the young woman before her was still unconscious. Knowing that she would likely be unable to give birth vaginally, she began setting up for a C-Section.

"Okay, any of you that are squeamish at the sight of blood, I want you to move over there and keep an eye on Megan's monitors. Anyone else that doesn't flinch at red, get over here and I'll instruct you as to what to do. Let's move, people!"

The one nurse that had been on duty was in charge of Tamara's anesthesia and monitoring. Two of Galen's former mechanics were going to help her with suction and dressings. Sharon prayed to God that her daughter would make it through this.

"Doctor Agathon, her Sats are dropping."

"Frak."

She didn't see the worried look that Tyrol gave her, but she could feel the concern coming off him in waves. She knew that time was working against them, and that she had to move fast if she would save either of the lives in front of her.

"How's it going, Megan?"

The young Tyrol held a thumbs up sign in-between deep breaths. She was staggering her exhaling in order to stave off the pain of her increasing contractions.

"Good. Now keep an eye on her contractions, Galen. I want you to tell me when they're a minute apart. Okay?"

The former Chief was slightly dumbstruck. He had turned a pale shade of green when Sharon made the first cut on Tamara's skin, and just nodded as he forced himself to look away from the surgery at hand to concentrate on his own daughter's well-being.

With the dull sucking sound of the baby's body being pulled from her daughter's uterus, Sharon saw one of the deckhands go down out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes narrowed, she looked suspiciously at the amount of blood that was coming from her daughter's open wound. Sharon had completed a few C-sections in her time as physician of the fleet, but none had so much hemorrhaging as this one. The baby gave a soft cry, and with a swift motion, she cut the umbilical cord and passed it to the waiting nurse.

Sweat formed in droplets on her forehead. There was no way for her to stop the flow of blood without removing the uterus entirely. She knew this. And while she knew that Tamara would rather die than be told she could never have children again, Sharon wasn't ready to give up her daughter that easily.

Just as she tied off the corresponding arteries, she heard Galen's voice interrupt her thoughts.

"Uh, Sharon, I think it's time."

Sharon quickly sewed her daughter's gaping belly shut, in what seemed like record time, and traded her drape for a clean one, putting on a new set of gloves. She reached under the sheet and felt that Megan was indeed ready to deliver. Leaning close to her ear, Sharon whispered something to the young girl. Megan nodded in response, and gritted her teeth as she began to bear down with the next strong contraction.

"All right young lady, when you feel the next contraction, I need you to push to the count of ten."

Again, saying nothing, Megan nodded. She made it through about four good pushes before she passed out.

"Megan, you need to wake up and finish this, okay? Megan?"

Sharon could feel the baby in the birth canal. It was too late for a C-section in her case.

"Galen, get down here!"

She moved the Chief into catching position as she jumped on top of the gurney with his daughter.

"Now listen to me. Megan can't push if she's unconscious. But that child isn't coming out of there any other way. I need you to pull on its shoulders once the head clears, do you understand me?"

"Uh-huh."

Her eyes scanned the monitor, waiting for the signs of the next contraction. With as much force as she could muster without injuring Megan herself, Sharon pushed down on the girl's burgeoning belly to push that child into the world herself.

"I can see the top of the head, Sharon. Do it again!"

After about three more of those, the baby swiftly made an entrance into the world by diving into its grandfather's waiting arms. Tyrol was visibly moved to tears as he looked down at his granddaughter, wriggling with her first cry. That sight alone kept him from focusing on his own daughter, who still was not awake.

"Sharon?"

He quickly came off his high as she looked at him sadly from her perch upon his daughter's belly, shaking her head back and forth as she moved to push out the afterbirth.


	71. Chapter 71

Hours passed and still no news from the scouting party. Galen sat at the end of his daughter's bed, head in his hands. He was overcome with a profound sadness, mixed with joy, as Sharon brought him his granddaughter for the third time that day. All he wanted right now was for his wife to come home and his daughter to open her eyes.

Sharon could feel the emotion coming off of him, as if it was ocean waves lapping at a desolate shore. She squeezed her friend's shoulder, looking down at him. The look in his eyes showed her that for the moment he was completely lost.

It made her ache inside. She ached for her own husband's presence, and for her own precious child to wake. Fighting back tears, she somehow managed to focus on the task at hand; taking vitals and checking on Cally, who had volunteered to feed Sharon's yet unnamed grandson.

Galen sighed audibly, realizing he was in need of a few lessons in parenting. Boomer had been the one to care for Megan when she was an infant, while he kept as far away as possible with as much grease under his fingernails as he could manage.

"Uh, Sharon? A little help over here…please?"

Sharon chuckled lightly as she reached out to take her niece from Tyrol, tickling the newborn under the chin.

"Come here, sweetheart. Grandpa needs a little instruction in diapering and burping, doesn't he? Okay Galen, pay attention…."

For more than twenty minutes they tried their best to get the little girl to burp. But their efforts seemed to be in vain. Galen's granddaughter just wasn't giving it up. They both were so lost in her gurgling and squirming that they almost missed the faint sound of a whisper.

"M-Mom?"

* * *

Halfway around the universe, Sharon Tyrol felt a sharp pang in her heart. _Something's wrong._

"Sir, are you alright?"

She shook her head and looked at the screen in front of her. Twenty-two jumps and still counting. They'd yet to find anything that would help them. Just a bunch of desolate rocks that crept up on each horizon.

"Um…yeah…I guess. Twenty years as a deck hand and then I go back to flying these things. It takes a little getting used to, you know?"

The kid known as Bungle had been graduated from the fleet's flight school less than two months prior to this mission. She probably didn't have the slightest clue as to what Sharon was talking about.

"Captain Tyrol, is there anything coming up on your long range scan?"

Her eyes narrowed as she focused on the screen again. _Wait._ There was something.

"Yeah, Helo. I'm picking up a very small blip as I scan. Do you get anything better than that?"

"Boomer, this is Starbuck. We're going to jump our bird ahead a little and see what it is. I want you and the rest of the raptors to keep watch here. Notify us if there's anything we need worry about. Got it?"

Fastening her helmet on and nodding to her copilot to do the same, she pressed the button to speak over the com.

"Got it Starbuck. Don't make Helo work too hard…and good hunting."

"Ha! As if!"

They all heard the deep chuckle coming from Karl as he spun up the other ship's FTL drive. Every single pilot was nervous as hell, while also silently praying to whatever higher power they believed in that at least it was Helo and Starbuck going ahead first, and not them. Starbuck's garbled transmission came to them as she began counting down their jump.

"All right…that's five, four, three, two, one, jump."

* * *

"Holy frak!"

Kara quickly maneuvered the raptor to not hit the ring of floating metal objects they encountered when they came out of the jump. They were in a circular orbit, around a brightly lit planet. Even from as far above the planet as they were, Kara and Karl could tell there was some form of life muddling about down below.

"Karl, you want to tell me what the frak that is?"

Helo looked on his screen, and then stepped up front from the ECO station to look out the window and get a better look with his own eyes.

"Kara, I think we should go a little closer, just to be sure."

She nodded, indicating he should sit in the co-pilot seat next to her.

"Strap yourself in. We're going to get a better look."


	72. A little Hope

"D-Dad? What's going on? Mom?"

"Shhhh. No honey. I'm not your mother. She's off on a mission. It's me, Aunt Sharon."

The young girl's eyes darted from Galen to Sharon and back again. Then they focused on the bundle Galen was holding rather precariously in his arms.

"Is that…? Is that my daughter?"

Galen smiled warmly, walking closer to Megan. He placed his granddaughter in her waiting arms, all the while looking up at Sharon with a questioningly. The look he received in return said to him, _not now_, while his wife's twin shrugged her shoulders.

Sharon was at a loss. Her own daughter had yet to wake, and by all accounts, Megan should be in a coma right now, or possibly dead. She made a silent prayer to God as she walked over and rested her hand upon her own daughter's quiet form. Her introspection was interrupted by the happiness in Megan's voice.

"I think I'll wait until Chris is back before I name her, Dad. I don't think it would be fair not to."

The Cylon smiled wryly at the animated young woman before her, and made another prayer to God that the scouting party would come home soon.

* * *

Helo and Starbuck could not believe their eyes. They watched the screen closely as the raptor's long range camera picked up some unbelievable shots. 

"Is this what I think it is?"

The tall ECO was sitting quietly, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he pondered Kara's question. They had been searching for so long. _Could this really be it_?

"I don't know, Kara. But it sure as hell looks a lot like home. Just a little…behind the times, I suppose. Almost like they got rid of some technology on purpose. If we are to assume that this is what's left of the thirteenth colony."

"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. We'd better head back. Lee's gonna flip over this."

Karl nodded in agreement as Kara strapped herself in. Soon they were jumping back to the rest of the scouting party, but kept quiet about what they found.

The voice of her son interrupted Kara's jumbled thoughts.

"Is everything alright, Starbuck?"

She smiled, not yet used to the sound of him calling her that.

"Yes, everything is fine. We need to get all this back to the Commander, and see where we go from there. Let's get out of here, people."

* * *

"I'm telling you, they've been gone too long. They should have been back by now." 

The old, familiar feeling of apprehension was beginning to wear on Commander Adama's nerves. His father stood there, closely watching everything unfold. He did not have the same feeling as his son, and spoke up accordingly.

"I think it's a little early to suppose that something went wrong, Commander. Give them a little more time before you start looking for a beacon."

Lee turned, for this is something he hadn't thought of. Instead of calming his fears about his wife and son, it only added to them. He hoped to the gods that there would be no distress beacons in the near future for him to hear. His breath hitched in his throat as the familiar sound of the Dradis began to sound.

"Dradis contact."

"Colonial signatures, Captain?"

He was soon answered by his wife's voice coming over the com.

"Galactica, Starbuck. Mission accomplished. I repeat…Mission accomplished. I think we may have found something here."

Anything else she may have said was drowned out by the whoops and cheers of everyone in CIC, combined with all the pilots and crew that were positioning themselves to land. Lee smiled, but remained slightly wary of events to come. He nodded to the communications officer, who relayed his silent message.

"Starbuck, come on home."

* * *


	73. Author's note

_**I finally updated!!!!**_

_**See chapter 74. Thanks.**_

_** - M.**_


	74. Chapter 74

_**Okay...yes, it has been a gods awful long time since I've updated. Let's just say that life caught up with me. I've got a full time job, a full time college schedule, and three kids. Who needs pets? Anyway, hope you enjoy. It's completely AU now...toodles!**_

* * *

Their birds landed, Kara and the other pilots, brimming with untapped excitement, walked through the landing bay with their heads held high. Kara herself wore a wide grin, ready to tell Lee all about what they had found.

But the minute she saw Galen Tyrol's face, even she became somber. She looked to her son, and then quickly at HotDog. She walked up behind them as they went directly to the chief, neither able to speak.

"Galen, what's wrong?"

Concern showing in his own graying visage, Tyrol sighed and addressed them all.

"You three…Sharon? You need to come with me before you're debriefed."

"But what….?"

Galen put a steadying hand on Chris's shoulder, calming him.

"Everything's going to be fine. Doctor Agathon will fill you in."

So with a slight sense of urgency, the four of them followed the old chief down to sick bay, walking in single file.

* * *

Mothers stood behind as they watched their children, silently. Kara wrapped an arm around Sharon, while looking forward with a gentle, not-too-broad smile upon her lips. She watched as her friend sighed, and smiled a little too, before shrugging of Starbuck's arm to join her child and her granddaughter. Her sister was explaining to Christopher Adama exactly what needed to be done from here, while he was holding his new daughter. It then occurred to her…. 

"Wait, what did you name her?"

Sharon Agathon looked at Mrs. Tyrol, then to Adama.

"Answer her."

A slow smile was beginning to spread upon the unlikely doctor's lips, as if she was the possessor of a little secret. Chris had not fully heard her, however, until the question was posed to him again.

"Chris, I said, what is her name."

He looked down; tiny fingers had wrapped around and taken hold of his own. He smiled, whispering in awe.

"Hope."

The sisters exchanged little smiles, while grandma Adama let hers beam for all to see. Doctor Agathon was then distracted by the appearance of her husband. Up to that point, she had left Brendan Costanza alone with his girlfriend and his newborn son.

"What's going on, Sharon?"

"Shhh…"

A well-placed finger met pursed lips.

"There are two newborns in here, and I will not have them crying over your booming voice like our daughter did when she was little. Come with me."

The vision that met Helo was not within his expectations.

His daughter, his precious Tamara, was lying peacefully, her face pale, but not quite ashen. The steady beep of monitors let him know that she was stable, but he did not know what was going on.

In one corner, HotDog was sitting with a tiny little one, wrapped tightly in his fatherly embrace. His eyes were puffy, from unchecked tears, the trace of which could still be seen upon his unshaven skin. Helo, feeling the younger man's pain, placed a steady hand upon the other's shoulder, squeezing to let him know that he was not alone.

"It will be all right, Costanza. Everything will be just fine."

HotDog nodded, not having the energy to speak. He quietly looked at his love, wondering if she would ever wake. As if questioning her, he looked at Sharon, his eyes pleading for an answer.

Sharon sighed and shook her head. She didn't have all of the answers.

"I'm sorry, but even with all this medicine and equipment, even I cannot answer that. It's going to become a game of wait and see."


	75. Chapter 75

"Doctor Agathon, Doctor Agathon; report to sick bay immediately. Doctor Agathon, Doctor Agathon; report to sick bay immediately."

Sharon had barely gotten to sleep when she was awakened by the voice of Lieutenant Clayborne, calling her across the comm. She didn't know what was going on anymore, but the tone of his voice left no guessing that it was serious enough to not care if she was in her pajamas...which was exactly what she wore when she entered the bay doors.

"All right; somebody tell me what is going on here?"

Costanza ran up to her, his words tumbling out before the nurse could even speak.

"Tamara's awake again! But, there's a problem..."

She looked at HotDog quizzically, her impatience growing.

"Well???"

"Um, well, Tam's awake, but Megan's back in a coma. I'm...sorry?"

Her eyes narrowed as she grabbed the chart rudely from the nurse's hands and strode over to her niece's bed.

"M-mom?"

The scratchy whisper of her own daughter's voice interrupted her medicinal thoughts as she turned to look at the most important thing that had ever come out of her life.

"Honey... How are you feeling? Okay, you know how the routine goes. Follow the light for me."

She did a routine battery of quick tests and could find nothing wrong with her. It was as if to get the miracle she had prayed for, something else had to befall her niece.

"I don't know what to tell you guys, but she looks fine from here. Megan, on the other hand... I suppose I should go call Galen."

Her daughter's slender hand reached out and touched her on the arm. She smiled and patted her daughter's hand lightly, looking at the younger woman's concerned features.

"But mom, I need to tell you something. I had a dream. It was a beautiful dream."

"That's nice, honey. But I've got some more work, it seems, before I can drag this bag of bones to bed again."

Tamara shook her head, almost laughing.

"No, mom...you don't get it. I had one of _those _dreams."

Sharon's eyes widened. She knew what her daughter spoke of.

"What was it about?"

"Well... I saw uncle Leoben..."


	76. Chapter 76

"Are you sure this is what we need to do, Sharon?" Helo stood next to his wife, disbelief etching his features. He shook his head back and forth, truly unable to believe what they were about to do.

"Yes, Helo. It has to be done. If we don't do this, then neither of our daughters will live. They'll keep going back and forth, one awake while the other sleeps. That's not a life. It's not, and I'm not going to let them continue to suffer if this, even this, will help them." Sharon squeezed her husband's hand, sighing as she thought of the task that stood before them.

They were preparing to hand over their daughters, and their grandchildren, to the Cylons. Well, to one Cylon in particular. Leoben stood, nodding at the two Sharons as they nodded in return. Helo and Kara were still in top shape, and had volunteered to accompany their family members as they boarded for who knew where.

Lee Adama stood next to Kara, handing her a tiny piece of equipment. "This is a locator beacon, Starbuck. Put it on your person where no one else will find it. Then activate it by pressing on it three times. I promise you, wherever you are, I'll find you." He hugged his wife and then his son in turn, grabbing Chris's shoulders like he would never let him go. "Take care of your mother, son."

Chris nodded. It dawned on him that there was a lot of nodding going on, but the spark of humor quickly left him as Megan's sleeping form was wheeled by him. He sighed, his shoulders losing a bit of their stiffness. "I will, Dad. You can count on me." He filed in behind the medics, followed by HotDog and the medics that had the children tightly swaddled in their incubators."

Helo reached over and hugged Sharon. "You know that we'll bring them back safe. I'm counting on you believing in me, you know." Sharon smiled, knowing that her husband would do anything in his power to bring all their children back together again, the way they should be.

"I know you will, baby. I know you will."

But even as she spoke the words, they sounded hollow as she looked up to the ship before her.


End file.
